Prince William revealed he once dreamed of becoming a police officer and secretly posts comments on Aston Villa fan forums as he made a surprise appearance on The Graham Norton Show.
The Prince of Wales, 44, swapped royal engagements for the famous red sofa on Friday night, delighting the studio audience as he showed off his more relaxed side alongside Hollywood stars Cate Blanchett, Hannah Waddingham and Robert Irwin.
The future King, who was greeted by gasps when Norton announced his arrival, opened up about his unlikely childhood career ambitions, his love of football and the television programmes that have his children hooked.
And in a revelation likely to delight Aston Villa supporters, William admitted he secretly joins discussions on online fan forums, allowing him to share his passion for the Premier League club away from the spotlight.
The Prince also confessed that before accepting his royal destiny, he had considered a career in the police.
He later also developed ambitions of becoming a DJ, although his attempts to establish himself behind the decks were apparently less than successful.
‘Then I went through a phase of wanting to be a DJ, which didn’t go very well. I was called DJ Xara, with an X,’ he revealed.
But his confession failed to impress Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, who jokingly responded: ‘Oh that’s rubbish.’
The Prince of Wales, 44, swapped royal engagements for the famous red sofa on Friday night, delighting the studio audience as he showed off his more relaxed side
The future King, who was greeted by gasps when Norton announced his arrival, opened up about his unlikely childhood career ambitions, his love of football and the television programmes that have his children hooked
William appeared entirely at ease with the teasing as he joined in the light-hearted conversation, in a rare glimpse of the man behind the royal title.
His appearance was intended to promote his Earthshot Prize, the environmental initiative he launched six years ago to support innovative solutions to some of the planet’s biggest challenges.
But the conversation also offered an insight into life behind palace doors, including the Wales family’s television habits.
The Prince revealed that Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight, are particularly enthusiastic viewers of the BBC’s hit reality series The Celebrity Traitors.
‘I love it, the family love it. Charlotte and Louis are obsessed with it. It’s really good telly,’ he said.
William even admitted he had played a prank on former EastEnders star Ross Kemp after watching him become increasingly paranoid about being murdered by a fellow contestant.
‘I saw Ross Kemp the day after the first episode and I couldn’t help but try – in the most appropriate way – to touch him to see what reaction I got from him. Turns out he was really jumpy!’
Kemp’s fears proved justified in Thursday night’s episode when traitors James Acaster and Maya Jama succeeded in eliminating him from the competition.
However, rather than being murdered through touch, he fell victim to a plot involving yawning and a poisoned perfume.
The Prince also revealed that he enjoys escaping the pressures of royal life by watching films, particularly those directed by Christopher Nolan.
‘It is music and film. I love getting immersed in deep-thinking films,’ he said.
‘I like action films too, but I like something a bit different. I’m a big fan of everything Christopher Nolan does. His films are fantastic – The Dark Knight series is psychologically dark and deep and I absolutely love that.
‘He takes concepts that are completely out there and makes them incredibly entertaining.’
William admitted he pranked Ross Kemp by touching him on the shoulder at a charity event – after the actor became convinced the gestrure marked him for death on Celebrity Traitors
William appeared entirely at ease with the teasing as he joined in the light-hearted conversation, in a rare glimpse of the man behind the royal title
His appearance was intended to promote his Earthshot Prize, the environmental initiative he launched six years ago to support innovative solutions to some of the planet’s biggest challenges
The Prince also insisted that, despite being a famous face around the world, he ‘quite regularly’ meets people who do not recognise him.
He told Norton: ‘I went to a place in Somerset and was looking around some of the local communities there, and one lovely gentleman looked up at me from his seat and said, ‘When are you going to sing?’.
‘I’ve had many requests over many years from all ranging parts of society, and I said, ‘I’m sorry, what do you mean?’.
‘He goes, ‘When are you going to sing your performance?’, and the lady behind tapped his arm and went, ‘No, no, he’s not that prince’.
‘It turned out he wanted me to sing Purple Rain, which I don’t know the lyrics for.’
William also discussed meeting Taylor Swift backstage at her record-breaking Eras Tour when she performed at London’s Wembley Stadium in June 2024.
The Prince said he only recently realised the ‘significance’ of a photo he and his children Charlotte and George took with Swift’s now-husband, American footballer Travis Kelce, which became the first the singer shared of them both.
William joked: ‘I hadn’t appreciated the significance, and actually, I was trying to move him out of the photo, and he just kept coming back in.
‘I kept trying to move him out, so it was just me, Taylor and the children.’
His laid-back performance was welcomed by royal fans, with viewers praising the future monarch for appearing approachable and willing to poke fun at himself.
One social media user described his appearance as ‘a bit of fresh air’, adding that he ‘brought positive energy and did well for someone who’s not used to the TV show format’.
The show, which also featured a performance from singer Jorja Smith, went out on BBC One at 10.40pm on Friday
Another praised the ‘feeling of normalcy’ surrounding William, while one admirer described him as ‘the fun and cool and unproblematic royal’.
William’s appearance marks a departure from the more traditional royal interviews and engagements usually associated with heirs to the throne.
He is only the second future British monarch to take a seat on a television chat show sofa, following in the footsteps of his father, King Charles.
The Prince has increasingly embraced less formal appearances in recent years, including interviews on sports podcasts and BBC Radio 1, as he attempts to connect with audiences beyond the usual royal circles.
But his latest television outing has also prompted speculation about the timing, coming amid renewed publicity surrounding his estranged brother Prince Harry and sister-in-law Meghan Markle.
PR expert Mark Borkowski suggested the appearance could be a ‘riposte’ to the Sussexes’ recent domination of royal headlines following their return to Britain.
However, sources close to William have insisted his decision to appear was motivated by his determination to promote the Earthshot Prize rather than any desire to compete with his younger brother.
There was no mention of the brothers’ estrangement or the possibility of reconciliation during the interview.
Instead, the Prince concentrated on the environmental initiative he founded in 2020, which awards £1million each to five winners every year to help develop solutions to major environmental problems.
Explaining why he established the awards, William said: ‘For many years I was hearing stories about environment issues and one thing that struck me was the negativity and doom which got me down.
‘I thought we could do something more powerful and more optimistic and the idea of an awards ceremony came about and we could talk about urgency and optimism together. It’s all about getting excited.’
He added: ‘There are some amazing people out there doing things to protect the world.’
His fellow guests all have longstanding connections to the project.
Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett is a member of the Earthshot Prize council, Australian conservationist Robert Irwin serves as a global ambassador, while Waddingham hosted the 2023 ceremony in Singapore.
Singer Jorja Smith also appeared on the programme, performing her single Dancing.
This year’s Earthshot Prize ceremony will be held in Mumbai next month, with William expected to meet Bollywood stars, learn more about India’s film industry and spend time with some of the country’s cricketing greats.
The event will see £5million awarded to five environmental innovators, while children across India have also been encouraged to devise their own solutions to environmental challenges through the ‘I Can Earthshot Challenge’.
Previous ceremonies have been staged in London, Boston, Singapore, Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro.
And despite the continuing tensions with Harry, William appeared determined to keep the focus on his own family, interests and charitable work.
For one evening at least, the future King seemed perfectly happy to trade royal formality for a few jokes on Graham Norton’s sofa.
