King Charles III returned to his old stomping grounds for his first post-coronation royal engagement, visiting his alma mater, the University of Cambridge, on Tuesday.
Charles toured the university’s Whittle Laboratory to break ground on a $73-million center for net zero aviation and energy, which aims to halve the time needed to develop such technology.
The newly crowned king spotted a clod of mud on the grass before the groundbreaking, per BBC News, and quipped, “I don’t suppose it’s already been done? It’s very unfair. I was rather looking forward to doing a bit of gardening.”
During the visit, Charles met with aviation leaders, toured the existing lab, and talked with government and aviation representatives to discuss aviation sustainability, according to People.
In his speech at the event, Charles praised the “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.”
He added: “The more we can do, the faster we can do it, with the kind of systems you have here at the Whittle to accelerate the research and development, is so important and encouraging.”
During his speech, Charles also referenced his own Cambridge education.
“I just wanted to offer my warmest congratulations to all those here and particularly as an old graduate of Cambridge University, albeit an arts one!” he said. “I am full of admiration for the incredible activities which go on here in engineering and so many other fields. This country’s greatest strength lies in innovatory skills. The most difficult part is making sure we help to develop those skills and the ingenuity to real product development.”
King Charles III said he was “looking forward to a spot of gardening” as he was asked to conduct the ceremonial breaking of the ground at the University of Cambridge. He goes on to say as it’s his third visit, the team would probably be “getting fed up” by now.
The event came three days after Charles and wife Camilla were crowned as the United Kingdom’s king and queen, with Charles, 74, succeeding his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, as monarch.
Also on Tuesday, Prince William and Kate Middleton hosted a garden party at Buckingham Palace in celebration of the coronation. Joined by Princess Anne, Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, the royals made the rounds greeting the thousands of specially invited guests from all walks of life in Britain.