Prince William tells young fan that his daughter has exams – as she asks where Princess Charlotte, 9, is during D-Day event in Portsmouth – in adorable video
Prince William was every bit the doting father he was as he spoke lovingly to a young fan about his nine-year-old daughter’s exam worries on Wednesday.
The Prince of Wales opened up at a D-Day event in Portsmouth when a girl, encouraged by a woman believed to be her mother, asked where Princess Charlotte was.
Showing his fatherly side, Prince William leaned down to speak directly to the little one, who was called Taylor, explaining: “Charlotte is at school, Charlotte has exams.”
He clarified: ‘Yes, she has tests’ before revealing that his middle child, who is a pupil at Lambrook school in Berkshire along with her siblings, was ‘not looking forward to them this morning’.
Then the Prince, like any other supportive parent, crossed his fingers and added: “Hopefully it all went well.”
A smiling royal fan giggled as she met Prince William, who explained that Princess Charlotte was taking exams at school
Earlier in the conversation, Prince William congratulated Taylor on her bow, saying “Bravo” as he clapped.
He also asked if she enjoyed the Red Arrows fly pass, which took place today at 12:30 p.m.
Before meeting his young fan, Prince William provided an update on the Princess of Wales’ condition, revealing that his wife would have ‘loved’ to attend a D-Day anniversary event with him today.
The royal family joined King Charles and Queen Camilla at the event in Portsmouth this afternoon.
After giving a moving speech to veterans and leading politicians, William met the audience, including the war hero who asked about his wife during her ongoing cancer treatment.
Footage posted to X shows the prince telling him: “She is doing better, thank you. She would have liked to be here today.’
The royal went on to reveal how he had spoken to women working at Bletchley Park as codebreakers, along with Kate’s grandmother Valerie Middleton.
The royal continued: ‘I reminded everyone how her grandmother served at Bletchley, so she had quite a bit in common with some of the ladies here.’
Princess Charlotte (pictured), nine, is a pupil at Lambrook school in Berkshire, where her siblings Prince George, 10, and Prince Louis, six, are also students
The Prince of Wales was candid at a D-Day event in Portsmouth when a young girl, encouraged by a woman believed to be her mother, asked where Princess Charlotte was. Pictured is the Prince and Princess of Wales at Lambrook School with their children in 2022
Pictured: The Prince of Wales delivers a speech to more than 500 members of the armed forces today at a D-Day anniversary event in Portsmouth
Before that, the royal family told one of the women: ‘My wife’s grandmother did the same thing as you. Catherine only found out towards the end of her life.’
Valerie and her twin sister Mary worked in Hut 16 in Bletchley Park, now swallowed up in Milton Keynes, and she was part of the team of crack code breakers who unlocked the secrets of the German Enigma machine and ultimately helped start the war for Britain to win.
The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden reported in 2019 that Valerie “never said a word” when the Princess of Wales asked her about her war efforts as a child.
“She was so sworn to secrecy that she was never able to tell us,” Kate said while visiting schoolchildren during her tour of the estate near Milton Keynes in 2019.
“Unfortunately, when she was alive, she could never talk about it.”
Valerie was recruited along with her twin sister Mary, Kate’s great-aunt, and they monitored diplomatic traffic from secret listening stations.
In this role they witnessed one of the most extraordinary moments in Bletchley’s history: the twins were on duty when a message was intercepted that Japan had surrendered.
Before meeting his young fan, Prince William provided an update on the Princess of Wales’ condition, revealing that his wife would have ‘loved’ to attend a D-Day anniversary event with him today.
Pictured: The Princess of Wales in May 2021. The Princess of Wales’s grandmother, Valerie Middleton, worked as a codebreaker in World War II
This meant that they were among the first – along with George VI and Prime Minister Winston Churchill – to hear that the Second World War was over.
In 2016, Kate paid tribute to her late grandmother – who passed away in 2006 – and said how proud she was of what she had achieved.
In a foreword for The GCHQ Puzzle Book, the Princess said: ‘They rarely spoke of their wartime service, but we now know how important the men and women of Bletchley Park were as they tackled some of the country’s toughest problems.
‘In a new century, their successors at GCHQ will continue this intellectual tradition. Like their Bletchley predecessors, they have become known for valuing neurodiversity and understanding the importance of mental wellbeing.”
In 2019, Kate paid tribute to her grandmother by wearing a special ‘Codebreakers’ poppy brooch during the wreath-laying service at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.
Earlier this year, the Princess of Wales revealed in an emotional video message that she is receiving treatment for cancer and has stepped back from her public duties.
