King Charles was on Thursday presented with his Tide Turners badge during a visit to Nyali Beach in Mombasa, where he was learning about local environmental initiatives including a beach clean-up and a turtle conservation programme.

When he met a group of Girl Guides involved with Tide Turners, a global movement educating young people about plastic marine pollution, Joanne Mirraho, 17, prompted cheers from her peers when she told the King “I love you!”

The King also met Dipesh Pabari and Ali Skanda, who told him how their non-profit organisation Flipflopi had created a unique sailing dhow, made out of recycled plastic and decorated with 30,000 discarded flip flops.

They presented a traditional Swahili throne – crafted from recycled plastic – as thanks for a £700,000 grant their organisation received from the UK Government, enabling them to collect up to 15 tonnes of plastic a month and run their own recycling factory.