PRINCE William took the plunge in a new role today and was challenged to show off his muscular torso by his father Prince Charles.
The Prince was compared to his water loving father Prince Charles, pictured 40 years ago[PA/REX]Wearing a mask, air cylinder, regulator, buoyancy device and fins, William, 32, swam to the bottom of an open-air pool with a group of other divers at the Oasis Sports Centre near Covent Garden in central London.
But he did not reveal quite as much as his 65-year-old father did on an earlier occasion.
Eugene Farrell, the BSAC chairman, had William and other guests in stitches when he remarked that one admirer of a topless picture of Charles, taken in his prime during a dive around 40 years ago, had described him as "quite buff".
The term means muscular or, more plainly, hot but the quizzical look on Charles's face as he turned to his son revealed he had no idea what it meant.
It's a great honour to be here with my father and accept the presidency of the British Sub Aqua Club, continuing that from my grandfather as well
William, laughing, leaned into his father and whispered an explanation to Charles, who raised his eyebrows theatrically.
"Pa, you should be pleased!" William laughed.
In a farewell speech before his son went snorkelling, Charles, who famously dived in the Solent to help uncover the wreck of the Tudor warship Mary Rose, said: "I'm delighted that my eldest son is taking over from me."
"I can only assume that his interest probably stems from the fact that I threw him into the swimming pool on many occasions.
"Instead of putting him off, it actually enthused him, so I'm thrilled that he has decided to carry on the tradition started really by my father."
He added: "I know my eldest son will now demonstrate his buff credentials, by leaping bodily into this very welcoming - and I didn't realise it existed - swimming pool.
William is not only following in the footsteps of his father. His grandfather Prince Philip was president of BSAC for 14 years before Charles.
William joked about racing the other scuba divers [AP]He said: "It's a great honour to be here with my father and accept the presidency of the British Sub Aqua Club, continuing that from my grandfather as well."
He added: "I hope that one day my son George might follow in our footsteps.
"For the moment bath time is quite painful, but I imagine as he gets a little bit older, donning a mask and snorkel might calm him down."
Changing out of his suit, William then went for a dip in the pool, joining a group of six youngsters who were having a snorkelling lesson in the shallow end.
In bright summer sunshine they all sat in the water with their backs against the pool wall and listened to an instructor who was taking the schoolchildren through underwater hand signals.
The Prince was joined by his father [GETTY]The group then snorkelled a short distance one after the other, with the Duke's large frame quickly covering the water after a few flicks of his fins.
The gauntlet was soon thrown down for a race.
William joked: "Let's race, let's do it - give me a lead start."
Clearly letting the children go ahead, he finished joint second and told the winner: "You're too fast."
Mr Farrell joined William in the pool and helped him put on his buoyancy device and air cylinder and the Duke changed his snorkel for a regulator.
The pair performed buddy checks, testing that each other's equipment was on correctly.
The future King said that it was an honour to be there [PA]"First job," William shouted to cheers from club members watching from a terrace above.
The future King swam with a diving buddy, 17-year-old Tom Billingham, from Stourbridge, West Midlands, and the pair travelled into the deep end with the rest of their group before a taking part in a circuit.
Tom, a member of the Dudley Dolphin Sub Aqua Club, said of William afterwards: "He's a natural, a proper seasoned diver.
"He gave clear, confident signals underwater.
"It looks like he's got it in his blood."
Prince Charles in 1986, proving the phrase 'like father, like son' [REX]The British Sub Aqua Club hopes that its new president will help attract new, younger members.
The Duchess of Cambridge is also known to have learnt to dive, like William, with BSAC which has 40,000 members operating out of 120 dive centres and 1,000-plus family friendly and sociable clubs, run by volunteers, up and down the country and abroad.
Mr Farrell said it was an honour to welcome William as the third generation of his family to become president.
"We look forward to working closely with the Duke to inspire a new generation of young scuba divers and snorkellers to discover the rich adventure and opportunities of the underwater world which we all have a shared interest in preserving and protecting," he said.
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