Pictured: Prince William with fellow guests Cate Blanchett, Hannah Waddingham and Robert Irwin. Photo: PA.
Prince William surprised the studio audience, and plenty of viewers, with an unannounced appearance on The Graham Norton Show. Recorded on Thursday, October 22, and broadcast on the BBC the following night, it was the first time a member of the British royal family had appeared on the long-running chat show. The audience reportedly gasped as he walked out.
Why he was there
The episode was a special edition tied to the Earthshot Prize, the environmental award William founded in 2020 to find and fund solutions to the planet’s biggest problems. He joined a couch already filled by Cate Blanchett, Hannah Waddingham and Robert Irwin.
What he talked about
- Movies: He said he’s a big fan of Christopher Nolan, especially The Dark Knight films, and likes how Nolan makes far-fetched ideas entertaining.
- TV: He and his younger children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, are hooked on The Celebrity Traitors, which he called “really good telly.”
- Career dreams: As a boy he wanted to be a police officer, and later a DJ under the name “DJ Xara,” which he admitted was not a great name.
- Mistaken identity: He recalled a man in Somerset mistaking him for the late Prince and asking him to perform “Purple Rain.”
- That selfie: He said he didn’t realize how big his 2024 Wembley selfie with Taylor Swift would become, and that he was mostly trying to keep someone else out of the frame.
- Football: He also talked about his lifelong support for Aston Villa.