William has a dangerous hobby that "fills Kate with horror"

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 25 October 2023

Princess Kate is NOT a fan of one of Prince William's hobbies — and the late Queen Elizabeth didn't love it either.

The Prince of Wales used to love riding a motorcycle in his youth, but his wife of 12 years isn't so keen on the dangerous mode of transportation - and she once said so straight up.

Asked during a royal engagement in the Scottish city of Dundee back in 2015 whether William was still riding a motorbike from time to time, Kate confirmed (via the Mirror): "He's still riding it. It always fills me with horror when he goes out on it. I'm terrified. Hopefully, I’m going to keep George off it."

At the time Prince George was two years old, and his younger sister Princess Charlotte was just a few months old, so their hobbies and interests obviously hadn't yet been established. Thankfully for the concerned Princess of Wales, William updated royal fans on his riding habits in 2018, after the birth of Prince Louis.

During a trip to the 2018 Isle of Man TT races (AKA a motorcycle race), William explained that he wasn't riding a motorcycle anymore saying: "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."

The Mirror reports that, though William no longer uses a motorbike, he's now taken up riding another vehicle: an electric scooter, which he allegedly uses between Adelaide Cottage and Windsor Castle when the King is in residence. But there's yet another of William's favourite modes of transportation that certain women in his family would historically have preferred he stayed well away from.

The late Queen famously hated for her grandson (and eventual successor) to use a helicopter, which he often did anyway, and reportedly got a telling-off about.

According to royal author Robert Jobson, Elizabeth II once had "sharp words" with William after he flew on a helicopter with "all his immediate family." While obviously she was worried about them as a grandmother and great-grandmother, as a monarch she also had to worry about the line of succession — which is why William and his eldest son George are usually not allowed to travel together if it's deemed too dangerous.

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Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.

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