George, Charlotte, and Louis Lose Out as Prince William Reveals "Crazy" Hobby He Shares with Princess Kate

“You feel great afterwards.”

Prince William on a visit to Wales
(Image credit: Getty Images)

During a visit to Wales on Tuesday, Prince William revealed he has a sneaky sweet tooth––and an adventurous new hobby. While meeting with members of the Marine Conservation Society’s Youth Ocean Network, the prince chatted with locals and shared his love of cold water swimming. “I love it,” he enthused to the group, admitting “I do a lot of yelling and screaming when I get in.”

Speaking to the Colwyn Bay Blue Tits, a local cold water swimming group, Prince William revealed that he takes cold water dips during his visits to Scotland. Despite the chilling temperatures, the prince said “you feel great afterwards”.

Prince William talks about cold water swimming

Prince William shares his love of cold water swimming.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince William visits Welsh charity Youthshedz

Prince William visits Welsh charity Youthshedz.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

This is a big change from his earlier opinions on cold water swimming. During a 2023 episode of Mike Tindall’s podcast, The Good, The Bad, & The Rugby, Prince Wiliam’s wife, Princess Kate, shared her love of the outdoorsy activity, despite her husband’s opinions at the time. “The colder, the better,” the princess told podcast listeners. “I absolutely love it. Slightly to the point where William's saying 'You're crazy' and it's dark and it's raining.”

While on the visit to Wales, Prince William visited the Youth Shedz charity and learned about their Christmas fundraising efforts. While viewing the guess-the-weight candy stall, a volunteer offered three bags “for your lovely children.” Prince William grinned, saying “oh, sweets! Oh my goodness me.” before quipping that the bags of candies "may never make it back to the children".

Stealing candy from children, and stealing his wife’s favorite hobby, all in one afternoon.

Christine Ross
Writer

Christine Ross is a freelancer writer, royal expert, broadcaster and podcaster. She's worked with news outlets including the BBC, Glamour, Talk TV, ET, PBS, CNN and 20/20 to cover the foremost royal events of the last decade, from Prince George’s birth to the coronation of King Charles III.

She previously served as co-host of Royally Us, a weekly royal podcast by Us Weekly. As a freelance writer and royal commentator she provides expert commentary, historical context and fashion analysis about royal families worldwide, with an emphasis on the British Royal Family.