King Charles visited the headquarters of the Royal College of Nursing in London today where he took part in a demonstration under the watchful eye of nursing cadets

King Charles was left in fits of giggles as he showed off a little-known skill that could save a life.

Today, he visited the headquarters of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in central London, where he refreshed his first aid skills when he practised resuscitating a dummy patient under the watchful eye of nursing cadets. Charles has been trained in CPR and was happy to join a demonstration when he visited the RCN to celebrate a scheme introducing young people to the healthcare profession.

With 17-year-old cadet Mia Alami guiding his actions and telling him to “keep your arms straight”, the King pumped the chest of the patient – just a head and torso – making it click to demonstrate he was providing the right pressure.

King Charles demonstrates CPR on a medical test mannequin ( 
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Getty Images)
When he reached 28 chest compressions, counted by the teenager, he received a round of applause and later joked: “At least I haven’t broken it.” It is hoped Charles’s actions will encourage others to refresh their first aid skills or seek to learn.

His visit celebrated the 1,000th RCN King’s Nursing Cadet, a scheme launched in 2019 and inspired by Charles, then the Prince of Wales, to help cadets acquire new skills. Mia, who has just completed her cadet course, said: “I was telling him to keep his arms straight, shoulders above the hands so you get the correct pressure because it has to be 5cm-6cm deep – he did very good.”

The King also watched cadets practising the technique for removing a blockage from a patient’s throat, and others learning about hygiene best practice. He presented the 1,000th cadet, Harrison Rigby, 16, from Colchester, with his certificate after the teenager had completed 40 hours of teaching and learning experience plus 20 hours of clinical observation.

The King cracked a joke as he refreshed his first aid skills ( 
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POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The 16-year-old’s twin brother Jefferson was standing nearby and was the 999th person to finish the cadet course, and when the King was told he had just missed out on the milestone, Jefferson joked: “I drew the short straw”. Harrison, who like his twin wants to become an Army doctor, said after the visit: “I got to spend the day on the Basildon cardiac ward, it was incredible getting to see all the doctors and nurses go through their procedures pre-op and post-op – it was an incredible experience.”

Before leaving, Charles spent time chatting to cadets and those supporting the scheme, with his host the RCN’s general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger. The King told the cadets: “I’m very proud of you all, hope you have great success. We’ll be relying on you more and more to keep everything going.The King’s visit to the RCN comes after a busy day yesterday celebrating Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey. He gathered at the Abbey with Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales for the service and in his Commonwealth Day message, he said restoring the “disrupted harmony of our entire planet” was the most ‘important’ task facing humanity.

Ahead of commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the King also remembered the “sacrifice and selflessness” of Commonwealth forces who answered the call to fight with Britain and her allies.

After the ceremony, the King also launched the inaugural King’s Baton Relay at Buckingham Palace, officially starting the countdown to the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. British Paralympian Kadeena Cox and judo competitor Sarah Adlington presented Charles with the baton and his message for the Commonwealth Games, with the latter tied in a red ribbon.

Charles placed the message into the baton, where it will remain until it is opened and read out at the opening ceremony. Charles and Camilla were also guests of the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Scotland, at the annual Commonwealth Day reception on Monday evening and hear a commemorative song by Andrew Lloyd Webber to mark the inaugural Commonwealth Peace Prize