Prince William has revealed his childhood career ambitions, which did not include becoming king. The Prince of Wales appeared on The Graham Norton Show on Friday, October 23, alongside Cate Blanchett, Robert Irwin, and Hannah Waddingham. During the BBC chat show, he discussed being mistaken for pop singer Prince, meeting Taylor Swift, and his early career fantasies.
Prince William's childhood ambitions: policeman and DJ
Asked whether he had imagined a different career path if he had not been born into the Royal Family, Prince William disclosed two surprising ambitions. He said: "I did want to be a policeman when I was younger, I did think I would be a good policeman."
He added: "And then I went through a phase where I wanted to be a DJ, which didn’t go very well, and I came up with a name, I was called DJ Xara with an X, it wasn’t good."
Mistaken for the singer Prince
Prince William also recalled an amusing encounter during a visit to Somerset, where he was mistaken for the late singer Prince. He said: "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?'"
He continued: "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."
Meeting Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
The Prince of Wales, who is next in line for the throne, spoke about meeting Taylor Swift backstage during her Eras Tour at London’s Wembley Stadium in June 2024. He 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. The picture became the first the singer shared of them both.
He explained: "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."
Royal Family's favourite TV show
Prince William also revealed his family’s enthusiasm for the reality show The Celebrity Traitors, calling it a household favourite. He said: "I love it, the family love it. Charlotte and Louis are obsessed with it. It’s really good telly."
The episode aired on Friday, October 23, and viewers were invited to share their thoughts on the show.
