Kate Middleton Forced Prince William to Give Up This Hobby That “Filled Her With Horror”

The Prince of Wales just had a chance to revisit this retired pastime on a recent trip—which he took alone—to Northern Ireland.

Prince William and Kate Middleton Gazing Into Each Other's Eyes While Standing on Balcony

Karwai Tang / Getty Images

Prince William and Kate Middleton are known to enjoy a range of leisurely activities outside of their royal duties. When they aren’t attending to their obligations as working royals, the couple loves spending time with their family, playing sports, and so much more. But, there’s one particular hobby that the Prince of Wales no longer partakes in because it was a cause of great concern for his wife. Although William publicly shared in 2018 that he renounced the former pastime, he got to revisit an iteration of it on November 14, 2024, while visiting Northern Ireland.

While paying a visit to the Virtual Production Studio at Ulster University’s Belfast City Campus on his trip, the Prince of Wales had a chance to relive his former hobby: motorbiking. At the studio, he rode a stationery motorbike in front of a projected clip of a desert landscape. “Any excuse to get on a motorbike!” he exclaimed, per Hello! “I feel like someone needs to take this for a real spin.” After completing the virtual ride, he announced, “I love that exhaust,” before saying the studio experience was “incredibly realistic.”

According to People, William used to love riding motorbikes when he was younger—and, he continued to pursue the hobby during his marriage to Kate. In 2015, his wife revealed that his motorbiking pursuits were something she always dreaded. “He’s still riding it,” she said at the time. “It always fills me with horror when he goes out on it. I’m terrified.” She noted that she hopes her oldest son, Prince George, doesn’t get any ideas from his dad. “Hopefully I’m going to keep George off of it,” she added.

Prince William Sitting on Motorbike in Front of Green Screen of Mountainside Road

Liam McBurney / Pool / Getty Images

In 2018, after welcoming two more children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, to their family, William announced that he no longer rides motorbikes. “I’m a dad of three,” he said. “I have to tone it down.” Even though ditching the activity would protect his health and safety, he admitted that the decision wasn’t an easy one. “I miss the big trips,” he said. “For me, biking was aways about being with everybody else.”

While Kate wasn’t fond of William’s motorbiking excursions, there’s a pastime of Kate’s that her husband can’t seem to get on board with, either. According to The Mirror, the Princess of Wales enjoys swimming in cold water, whether it’s outside in the winter or in an unheated pool. “The colder, the better,” she shared. “I absolutely love it—slightly to the point where William’s [saying], ‘You’re crazy,’ and it’s dark and raining. I will go and seek out cold water. I love it.”

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