King Charles III has broken ground at land for a £58 million ($73 million) UK laboratory extension at which efforts will be made to help the global aviation industry reach net-zero goals.
It was a couple of off-script moments that will be best remembered from the monarch’s first official engagement since his coronation on Saturday.
First the king helped a woman stuck in the mud and then he joked that his ground-breaking task at the University of Cambridge's Whittle Laboratory had been made easier by someone loosening the earth before him.
He rushed to the aid of dignitary Dame Polly Courtice when her shoes sank into the grass, leaving her momentarily stranded. King Charles helped support her while she freed herself.
A few moments earlier, as he was walking to perform the ceremonial ground-breaking, there a lump of mud already visible on the grass, prompting the king to joke: “I don't suppose it's already been done?”
He added: “It's very unfair. I was rather looking forward to doing a bit of gardening.”
The King then sank the spade into the soil, using his foot to help lift a lump of turf, before raising the spade aloft and jamming it into the ground, leaving it standing.
The Whittle Laboratory is designed to become the leading global centre for innovation in net-zero aviation and energy, bringing together experts from research and industry.
It aims to halve the time it takes to develop key technology, which can typically take up to eight years to reach the point of being considered for commercial use.
Trials at Whittle have indicated such times could be accelerated by breaking down barriers between academia and industry.
The king arrived in a Bentley to tour the existing lab on Tuesday, which he has visited twice before, in 2020 and in 2022.
He said: “I can't tell you what a joy it is to be here, my third visit. I think you'll probably be getting fed up of me by now.
“But I really wanted just to express my enormous admiration of what [director of the Whittle Laboratory] Rob Miller is doing here with the Whittle and his remarkable team.
“And of course the key exercise of all this is to keep the team and expand it, but not lose all these remarkable people who have the innovative capacity and the engineering skills to help lead what we need so badly and so urgently in order to save this planet from increasing catastrophe.
“And of course the aviation sector is critical in all this.”
The Whittle, an aerospace and energy laboratory, was opened in 1973 by Sir Frank Whittle, who founded the company that invented the jet engine while still an undergraduate at Cambridge.
King Charles broke ground for the new laboratory and unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion, watched by about 170 invited guests including university students and staff.
He met leaders from the aviation industry and from the government, including Energy Secretary Grant Shapps and George Freeman, a science minister.
He also attended a collaborative round-table meeting to discuss potential future ways to achieve a sustainable aviation industry.
Over the past 50 years the lab has helped shape the propulsion and power sectors through industry partnerships with Rolls-Royce, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Siemens.
The Abu Dhabi Awards explained:
What are the awards? They honour anyone who has made a contribution to life in Abu Dhabi.
Are they open to only Emiratis? The awards are open to anyone, regardless of age or nationality, living anywhere in the world.
When do nominations close? The process concludes on December 31.
How do I nominate someone? Through the website.
When is the ceremony? The awards event will take place early next year.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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