The Prince of Wales made a personal £5,000 donation to a Royal Marine, signing the gift with the name "William Wales" and the initial "W" in a public message.
Prince William gave the money to Dave "Dinger" Bell, who is raising funds for Armed Forces charity Rock2Recovery by taking part in the Dinger Cross Pacific and Indian Ocean Row. The rowing expedition was described as the "longest ocean row of all time", covering 14,500 nautical miles over 327 days.
Donation message revealed
On Bell's SpotsGiving page, a donation of £5,000 from "William Wales" dated October 5 is accompanied by the message: "An extraordinary achievement. Huge congratulations to Dinger for completing this incredible challenge in support of a brilliant cause. Well done!"
The message was signed with the initial "W". The Royal Marine later thanked the heir on social media, saying: "Thank you for all the donations. I'm recovering well.
"I have a very, very special thank you to make to His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, for a donation he made yesterday to Rock2Recovery. Thank you very much."
Catherine's similar gesture
Earlier last summer, Princess Catherine made an undisclosed donation to support 11-year-old Ted Haslam, a wheelchair user she met during her charity trek. Catherine climbed the highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon – finishing the route within 24 hours.
While on Ben Nevis, Catherine met Ted, who took on the Three Peaks Challenge that day with the support of a team of family and friends. Ted was raising money for Molly Olly's Wishes, a charity that supports children with serious illnesses.
Although the donation amount was not visible, Catherine sent an emotional message to the 11-year-old, reading: "One of the real highlights of the Three Peaks Challenge was meeting inspiring people like you along the way.
"Huge congratulations to the entire team for raising money for such a wonderful cause." She signed the message with her initial "C" and used the name "Catherine Wales" to post it.
