Prince William has vowed to support efforts to stop youngsters from turning to knife crime and violence.
The Prince of Wales visited an anti-youth violence charity on Friday, where he met female boxer Jess Bryden, who described to him how she turned her back on County Lines gangs.
Prince William said her journey out of crime was “very impressive”. After watching the 18-year-old practising in the ring, the Prince told her: “You’re very quick.
And declining the chance to take part in a sparring contest with her, he said she could win with “one hand tied behind her back”.
He explained: “My boxing is nothing like that. I don’t box.
“I’m happy just chatting with you, to be honest. Hopefully, if I talk to you long enough I don’t have to go into the ring.”
He asked her how she had transformed her life from “being rock bottom, to now” and hailed her transformation.
The Prince of Wales added: “You have to be willing to want to do it yourself.”
Ms Bryden spoke about how she got dragged into a life of drugs, violence and crime and ended up being exploited by County Lines gangs when she was just 13 years old.
She thanked her parents, who she said turned her life around.
She now trains with the UK’s top boxers in Sheffield and hopes to fight in the Olympics one day.
Jess said: “I was mixed up in the wrong crowd and one thing led to another and I was taking drugs, started fighting, and involved in crime and criminal gangs.
“I was vulnerable and had no idea what I was involved in. It escalated.”
The royal visit came after 15-year-old Elianne Andam was stabbed to death in Croydon, south London, on Wednesday in an incident that shocked the whole nation.
A 17-year-old boy – who cannot be named for legal reasons – has now been charged with murder and possession of a knife.
