Prince William Admits He Got Up to Some "Dodgy" Activities as a Kid and Ponders Re-Upping His Childhood Business
"I got up to a lot!"
Prince William visited Wales on October 1 to meet communities affected by recent flooding, and while chatting with local residents, he met a man who shared a hilarious memory of the future King as a child.
The Prince of Wales met Rod and Helen Wyatt in the village of Skenfrith, and as he spoke to them about the four major floods they’ve experienced in the past six years, Rod told him they’d met before.
“First time I met you, you were this high,” Rod said, gesturing to his waist. “In Glanusk Estate, you sold me a CD from a bric-a-brac stall.” The memory made the Prince of Wales laugh and he recalled, “Dodgy car boot sale, yes, I remember that.”
Prince William speaks with Rob and Helen Wyatt on October 1 in Skenfrith, Wales.
Glanusk happens to be where Prince William’s former nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke grew up, and her family has managed the vast property for generations, but it also is home to a campground and serves as a venue for weddings, fairs and other events.
Prince William and Prince Harry spent a good deal of time at Glanusk when they were young and attended their nanny's wedding on the estate in 1999, but apparently, William also got put to work at a boot sale (a British version of a flea market). After sharing some laughs, Rod asked the Prince of Wales, “Still doing that?”
“No, I don't sell…it's dried up a bit that one, perhaps I should reopen it,” William joked. “'I got up to a lot,” the Prince of Wales added. “We had some fun ‘round there.”
William climbs over a fence during a visit to the charity Stump Up For Trees.
Ahead of next month’s Earthshot Prize ceremony in Mumbai, India, the Prince of Wales is putting a spotlight on climate change. With a potentially record-strength El Niño event that could intensify climate impacts globally, his visit highlighted the importance of building resilience at a local level.
The Wyatts told Prince William how they changed the flooring on their ground floor to be tile because of the constant flooding they’ve experienced in recent years, and how at one point, they had to “give up” trying to deal with it and went upstairs to watch Strictly Come Dancing.
“It must be so demoralizing for you now, the worry each year you've got to go through that again, potentially, is becoming more frequent,” William said.
He also met representatives from Stump Up For Trees, a community-based environmental charity working across South Wales to restore native woodland and recognize its potential to support solutions to flooding risk. He saw the charity's work in action with a local farming family, learning how they've partnered with the charity to use their land for upstream flooding interventions.
