Though Prince William and Kate Middleton have made it clear that they’re trying to give their children a sense of normalcy, despite growing up under the intense scrutiny that comes with being royal, there are some definite perks to being in the family. Like being shown dinosaur fossils by none other than legendary naturalist and documentarian Sir Richard Attenborough, for example.
Ahead of the first annual Earthshot Prize—an award that, starting with its inaugural ceremony this weekend, will give funds to five climate protecting innovators every year through 2030—Prince William has been sharing plenty of anecdotes with the press about what environmentalism means to his family. He told an interviewer for BBC Newscast about how 8-year-old Prince George got annoyed by litterbugs, for example. And now, he also reports that his eldest son got the opportunity to see Sir David Attenborough’s fossil collection.
Attenborough, 95, the famous voice behind the Planet Earth documentaries and a long-time environmental advocate, is a panelist for the Earthshot Prize. And he’s apparently great with the young royals, too.
“He was brilliant with the children when he met them,” William told the BBC, of Attenborough, according to Express UK. “He brought out his fossil collection and showed the children that, which, I think, George at the time absolutely adored—he got loads of dinosaur fossils.”
According to the publication, “The BBC revealed Sir Attenborough handed Prince George a fossilised shark tooth when he visited Kensington Palace in September 2020. The young Prince was said to have looked captivated as he was handed the tooth of a carcharocles megalodon, a now extinct 50-foot-long mega-toothed shark.”
It’s not surprising that kids love dinosaurs, but it’s always charming to hear that even the young royals share these universal kid interests. Earlier this year, Kate Middleton revealed that her children have a thing for airplanes, too.
Then again, with the news that Prince George is a budding environmentalist like his father and grandfather, his interest in the natural world isn’t too surprising.