Prince William dodges question on pitfalls of being a royal

During a trip to Scotland, Prince of Wales was asked whether it’s ‘tricky’ being a royal

Prince William had an interesting response when asked whether it’s “tricky” to be in the royal family.

The Prince and Princess of Wales stepped out in Scotland on Thursday 2 November to meet with various organisations supporting the community of Moray. Prince William and Kate Middleton, who are also known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay when in Scotland, greeted the Outfit Moray team at Burghead Primary School to learn more about the outdoor learning and adventure activity charity.

In one video posted to TikTok, William was seen fielding questions from a very chatty group of children outside Burghead Primary School. The young students asked the royal a range of questions, including what his favourite soccer team was and whether it’s “tricky” being a prince.

“Is it tricky being a prince?” William repeated, before he replied: “It’s tricky being a pilot, how’s that for an answer?”

Prince William began his military training in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, the latter of which he completed at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire, England. He was presented with his RAF wings by his father, King Charles III, in 2008. One year later, he trained to become a helicopter pilot with the RAF’s Search and Rescue Force and was transferred to the Search and Rescue Training Unit at RAF Valley in Anglesey, Wales.

His active service as an RAF search-and-rescue pilot ended in September 2013, before he began working as a full-time pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) in July 2015. William then left his position with EAAA in July 2017 to assume full-time royal duties.

In 2021, William recalled a traumatic experience he had as air ambulance pilot when rescuing a young boy. During an episode of Apple Fitness+ Time To Walk series, he spoke about working with the EAAA in 2015 when a young boy had been hit by a car. They got the boy to hospital very quickly to ensure the best chance of survival, but the event continued to have a profound impact on William’s mental health.

“I went home that night pretty upset but not noticeably. I wasn’t in tears, but inside, I felt something had changed. I felt a sort of... a real tension inside of me,” he said during the podcast, per Today. “And then, the next day, going back in again to work, you know, different crew. On to the next job. And that’s the thing, you’re not always all together. So then you can’t spend a day processing it.”

During their trip to Scotland, Prince William and Kate Middleton met with several organisations working with local young people to support their mental health, including the Outfit Moray team at Burghead Primary School. Since its creation in 2003, the charity has supported young people between ages eight and 18 by arranging outdoor learning and adventure activity programmes, in order to build confidence and self-esteem.

Before they left, William and Kate were given three teddy bears as gifts to bring home to their children - Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five.