Prince William was every inch a doting father as he spoke lovingly about his nine-year-old daughter’s exam worries to a young fan on Wednesday.
The Prince of Wales came clean at a D-Day event in Portsmouth when a little girl, encouraged by a woman believed to be her mother, asked where Princess Charlotte was.
Showing his paternal side, Prince William leaned down to speak directly to the little girl, whose name was Taylor, and explained: ‘Charlotte is at school, Charlotte has exams.’
She clarified: “Yes, she has exams” before revealing that her middle daughter, who is a pupil at Lambrook School in Berkshire along with her siblings, “wasn’t looking forward to this morning.”
Then, like any other supportive father, the Prince crossed his fingers and added: “Hopefully everything went well.”
A smiling royal fan laughed when she met Prince William, who duly explained that Princess Charlotte was at school taking exams.
At the beginning of the exchange, Prince William congratulated Taylor on her bow and said “Bravo” while applauding.
He also asked him if he had enjoyed the Red Arrows flight, which took place today at 12.30 p.m.
Before meeting his young fan, Prince William gave an update on the Princess of Wales’s condition and revealed that his wife “would have loved” to attend the D-Day anniversary event with him today.
The royals joined King Charles and Queen Camilla at the event in Portsmouth this afternoon.
After delivering a moving speech to veterans and prominent politicians, William met with members of the public, including a war hero who asked about his wife amid her ongoing cancer treatment.
In images published on X, the Prince is seen saying: “She’s better, thank you.” She would have loved to be here today.
The royal went on to reveal how she had been speaking to women who worked at Bletchley Park as code breakers alongside Kate’s grandmother Valerie Middleton.
The royal continued: “He was reminding everyone how his grandmother served at Bletchley, so he had quite a bit in common with some of the ladies here.”
Princess Charlotte (pictured), nine, is a pupil at Lambrook School in Berkshire, where her brothers Prince George, 10, and Prince Louis, six, are also students.
The Prince of Wales came clean at a D-Day event in Portsmouth when a young woman, encouraged by a woman believed to be her mother, asked where Princess Charlotte was. Pictured, the Prince and Princess of Wales at Lambrook School with their children in 2022
Pictured: The Prince of Wales delivers a speech to more than 500 members of the Armed Forces at a D-Day anniversary event in Portsmouth today.
Before this, the king said to one of the women: ‘My wife’s grandmother did the same kind of thing as you. Catherine did not find out about her until the end of her life.
Valerie and her twin sister Mary worked at Cottage 16 in Bletchley Park, now immersed in Milton Keynes, and she was part of the team of code breakers who discovered the secrets of the German Enigma machine, ultimately helping to win the war for Britain.
The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden reported in 2019 that Valerie “never uttered a word” when asked by the Princess of Wales about her war efforts as a child.
“She was so sworn to secrecy that she never felt able to tell us,” Kate told visiting schoolchildren during their tour of the estate near Milton Keynes in 2019.
“When she was alive, unfortunately she was never able to talk about it.”
Valerie was recruited along with her twin sister Mary, Kate’s great-aunt, and they monitored diplomatic traffic from secret listening stations.
In this role, they witnessed one of the most extraordinary moments in Bletchley’s history: when the twins were on duty when a message that Japan had surrendered was intercepted.
Before meeting his young fan, Prince William gave an update on the Princess of Wales’ condition and revealed that his wife “would have loved” to attend a D-Day anniversary event with him today.
Pictured: The Princess of Wales in May 2021. The Princess of Wales’s grandmother, Valerie Middleton, worked as a code-breaker in the Second World War.
This meant that they were among the first group of people (along with George VI and Prime Minister Winston Churchill) to learn that the Second World War had ended.
In 2016, Kate paid tribute to her late grandmother, who died in 2006, and said how proud she was of what she had achieved.
Writing a foreword to The GCHQ Puzzle Book, the princess said: “They rarely spoke of their wartime service, but we now know how important the men and women of Bletchley Park were, as they tackled some of the most difficult problems that the country faced.
‘In a new century, his successors at GCHQ continue this intellectual tradition. Like their Bletchley predecessors, they have become known for valuing neurodiversity and understanding the importance of mental wellbeing.’
In 2019, Kate paid tribute to her grandmother by wearing a special ‘Codebreakers’ poppy brooch during the wreath-laying service at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.
Earlier this year, the Princess of Wales revealed in an emotional video message that she is receiving treatment for cancer and has taken a step back from her public duties.
