Prince William Had a Funny Exchange With Royal Superfan He Hugged

Prince William embraces fan Natasha Gorry during visit to Homewards Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) on February 28, 2025 — (Image credit: JACK TAYLOR/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Prince William has been showing a different side of himself at recent engagements. Once a stickler for the royal rules, the Prince of Wales has embraced being a more modern and relatable member of the British Royal Family. For instance, just last year, Prince William filmed a TikTok to help out a student who was late to class. Now, William has shown his concern for a royal superfan who chose meeting him over attending classes.

On Feb. 28, Prince William visited Bournemouth and Poole College to launch a new partnership aimed at building more homes in the south west of England. During the visit, William spoke to Natasha Gorry, a young superfan who had clearly spent a lot of time waiting to meet the prince. After a conversation, Prince William hugged Gorry, but it's clear that his parental instinct had him worried about her missing out on her education.

"Go on, give me a hug," William told Gorry, via the Daily Mail. "So nice to see you but you've got some lessons to go to now. I'm going to get you in trouble for keeping you out of your lessons now."

After Gorry reportedly tried to reassure William that she hadn't missed anything important, he responded, saying, "You've got a free period now? When's lunch break? You've brought the sun out today, it's lovely."

Gorry was, of course, delighted to have met Prince William and had such a genuine exchange with him. "I am so happy," she said, according to the Daily Mail. "He gave me a hug. I love it. I'm excited...I told him what course I was doing. He's an amazing guy."

Earlier this week, Princess Kate and Prince William traveled to Pontypridd, Wales. According to body language expert Darren Stanton, on behalf of Genting Casino, Kate and William seemed to be enjoying themselves. "It's clear they felt they were almost off duty, so they felt they could really enjoy themselves and fully relax in each other's company," Stanton explained. "We've seen a fun and mischievous side of both of them come out quite naturally."

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Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.