The Princess of Wales once revealed she was "terrified" of Prince William’s daring hobby and hopes Prince George won’t take it up.
So much of what we see of Prince William and Kate is them undertaking official engagements and formal events, though the couple are known to be incredibly sporty. Over the years we’ve seen a few glimpses of this in public, like when the Princess of Wales played tennis with Roger Federer and when she and Prince William raced each other on bikes. However, not all sporting activities are loved equally by both of them. Kate’s divisive hobby of cold water swimming is something Prince William thinks she’s "crazy" for doing. Meanwhile, the future Queen used to be left “terrified” by one of her husband’s hobbies.
According to Vanity Fair, the Princess of Wales was asked during a visit to Dundee in 2015 whether her husband was still riding his motorcycle. Her response not only confirmed that he was, but revealed her feelings about it, and she wasn’t a big fan.
"He’s still riding it. It always fills me with horror when he goes out on it. I’m terrified," she is said to have explained, adding, "Hopefully, I’m going to keep George off it."
It might be tricky for many fans to imagine Prince William, who is first in the royal line of succession, riding a motorcycle. But the Prince of Wales passed his basic motorcycle test as a teenager and, as per the BBC, he then passed a more advanced one in 2002 when he was 19 and a student at the University of St Andrews.
At the time that the Princess of Wales supposedly revealed her fears for Prince William’s safety whenever he went out motorbiking, Prince George was two years old and Princess Charlotte just five months old.
Her concerns for her eldest son possibly following in his father’s footsteps are understandable, though since then Prince William has changed his motorcycle habits. The Prince of Wales admitted in 2018 that he had to "tone it down" now he had a young family.
"I'm a dad of three. I have to tone it down. I miss the big trips, for me biking was always about being with everybody else," he explained during a trip to the Isle of Man TT races.
Prince William’s decision to "tone down" his motorcycling will likely have come as a relief to Kate. Whether or not Prince George will be tempted to try out motorcycling all one day remains to be seen, however he’s reportedly been very inspired by his dad in an entirely different way.
As reported by The Mirror in 2016, the Princess of Wales allegedly said at an engagement that she’d shown Prince George pictures of Spitfires, with a cadet claiming to the publication, "He is now obsessed with the air cadets and wants to join."
In the years that have passed this doesn’t seem to have changed too much. At a Buckingham Palace Garden Party on 21st May, Prince William apparently described 10-year-old Prince George as a "potential pilot in the making", according to Hello!. The Prince of Wales served in the RAF for several years and it seems that Prince George is keen to take to the skies when he’s older.
This could quite possibly happen as although Prince George is set to become King one day, both Prince William and King Charles served in the military before undertaking full-time royal duties.
