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Prince William and Prince Harry have quite a few things in common, from their upbringing to their transformation from “party prince” to family man, but it’s the latter who got the reputation for being a naughty and rebellious prince. During his teens and 20s, the Duke of Sussex made headlines for numerous controversial moments (like that time photos showing him fully nude at a Las Vegas party leaked). But even after marrying Meghan Markle and welcoming two children, Harry hasn’t been able to escape the negative press, whether caused by awkward moments of his that were caught on camera or his own TMI confessions in a memoir.
While perhaps not as long as Harry’s list of reported antics, Prince William has also had several scandalous moments over the years. One of the most notable ones was his brother’s claim in his book “Spare” that William allegedly physically attacked him during a fight not long before Harry and his wife Meghan Markle announced their departure from royal life. In early 2024, William also became the target of groundless criticism after some conspiracy theorists linked his wife Kate Middleton’s months-long disappearance from the public eye to the resurfaced rumor of his alleged affair with Rose Hanbury, with some even claiming he could be gearing up to divorce the Princess of Wales. The issue was cleared up after Kate announced her heartbreaking cancer diagnosis, but it still made William persona non grata among some royal fans for weeks.
However, long before these dominated headlines, Prince William had other controversial moments that people have seemingly since forgotten. Let’s revisit some of the scandals that William likely wants to remain under the rug they were swept under.
William was dubbed ‘work-shy’ and ’10 a.m. to 4 p.m.’ prince
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Prince William came under fire for his work ethic, with critics repeatedly calling him out for not doing as many royal engagements as other royals despite enjoying just as many, if not more, privileges and riches. This earned him some unpleasant nicknames from the press and insiders, including “Work-shy William” and “10 a.m. to 4 p.m.” prince (because he allegedly only works during those hours). Graham Smith of the anti-monarchy group Republic described William to NBC News as “an incredibly lazy man who manages to get a pretty small splashing of engagements to look like he is busy.”
In 2016, William addressed the criticism, explaining that, in addition to his work as an air ambulance pilot, he was focused on raising his children with Kate Middleton. That year, William spent just 80 days at royal engagements, ranking seventh among working royals. However, even after he became a full-time working royal and later the Prince of Wales, he rarely made the top four when it came to the number of engagements accomplished in a year.
However, William and Prince Harry insisted they had no control over how many royal engagements they could take on, so the former wasn’t turning down any duties behind the scenes. William clarified in 2016 that his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II decided how duties would be divided among the working royals. Harry also defended his older brother in his memoir, alleging William “did as much as Pa [Charles] wanted him to do, and sometimes that wasn’t much, because Pa and Camilla didn’t want Willy and Kate getting loads of publicity,” per Newsweek.
William’s hunting activities drew accusations of hypocrisy
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Hunting has been a favorite pastime of British royals for centuries, with the late Queen Elizabeth II and her son King Charles III being known for taking part in shoots for deer and game birds such as grouse every year in the Scottish countryside. Prince William and Kate Middleton have upheld this tradition and, in 2018, even started bringing their eldest son Prince George along on hunts — a parenting move that was condemned by PETA.
Four years earlier, Prince William’s love of hunting also ignited a firestorm of criticism — but for a different reason. In 2014, William, who founded the conservation group United for Wildlife, called for an end to the illegal hunting and trade of rhinos, elephants, and other wildlife. But the issue was that just a day prior, he went deer and wild boar hunting in Spain. While his expedition was legal and very different from the hunting he was advocating against, the timing raised eyebrows and earned William accusations of hypocrisy.
This discussion came up again in 2016 when William controversially defended trophy hunting of animals. Speaking to ITV News, he insisted that commercial hunting was fine as long as the animal killed was “a very old infirm” one and that any money generated would be used for “the protection of the other species.” The prince’s statement quickly caused uproar from conservation groups, including Lion Aid, whose leader insisted this would not work for endangered species like lions, which are so few in number but remain a favorite of trophy hunters.
William was in hot water after going on a boys’ trip and dancing with a model
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The year 2017 marked a turning point for Prince William as he gave up his job as a pilot and became a full-time working royal. However, a few months before that major move, he added another royal scandal to his name after he went on an all-boys ski trip in Switzerland with friends in March 2017. Not only was his work ethic questioned once again because he skipped the Commonwealth Day service, but his reputation as a family man also took a hit as he was seen partying with two women in a club.
Prince William danced his way into a scandal after The Sun released footage showing him busting out dad dance moves and putting his hand on a woman’s waist. He appeared to lean his head very close to hers at one point so he could hear what she was saying. He also reportedly danced with Australian model Sophie Taylor and was seen wearing her cowboy hat. An eyewitness suggested to The Sun that William may have had one too many drinks at that point.
It’s unclear if Kate Middleton, who had stayed home with their kids while William was on vacation, had any issue with her husband’s antics, but the couple appeared happy and loved-up during an appearance on BBC Radio One a few weeks later. But William did make one comment that seemingly hinted he’d learned his lesson. “I’ve got into enough trouble with my dancing recently. So it’s probably best to stay away from that one,” he said in response to a question about secretly attending a music festival.
William was accused of racism over his comments about Africa
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Long before Meghan Markle made her bombshell revelation that a member of the royal family allegedly made racist comments about her then-unborn child’s skin color, several British royals, including the former actress’ husband Prince Harry, have had to publicly apologize for race-related scandals. The Duke of Sussex had issued public apologies for wearing a Nazi costume to a party and using a racial slur to refer to an army friend. Meanwhile, the late Prince Phillip found himself in hot water in 1999 when he joked that a messy fuse box looked “as though it was put in by an Indian” and later apologized, according to The Independent.
Just months after telling reporters, “We’re very much not a racist family,” in response to Meghan’s allegation, Prince William was embroiled in a racism scandal of his own after he made comments that some took as an attack on the African people and population growth. “The increasing pressure on Africa’s wildlife and wild spaces as a result of human population presents a huge challenge for conservationists, as it does the world over,” he said at the Tusk Conservation Awards, according to Newsweek.
William’s speech sparked intense backlash online, with film and television producer Franklin Leonard tweeting at the time: “‘There are too many Africans’ is quite the position.” Human rights organization Survival International wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Prince William says mounting pressure on Africa’s ‘wild spaces as a result of human population’ is a ‘huge challenge for conservationists’. Staggered by the racism & hypocrisy?”
William caused security concerns after sharing photos of his work day as a military pilot
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Prince William may be the future king of Britain, but he apparently has his TMI moments too. While most people would just get judgmental looks for sharing too much information, William being a little too candid caused security concerns and nearly got him in trouble with the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense. In 2012, he posted a photo diary on his website showing his regular work day as a lieutenant and pilot in the Royal Air Force. Some of the snaps were harmless, such as those showing him in his uniform having a chat or eating lunch with his fellow officers.
However, other photos left Defense officials alarmed and were soon taken down as they showed more sensitive information. These images, which included those that captured a document and a computer asking for a password, were later replaced with new ones where the sensitive details could no longer be seen, but by then, the original snaps had already been republished by many news outlets.
In a statement (via E! News), a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense addressed the issue, saying, “Due to an administrative oversight, these photographs were not properly cleared at RAF Valley and the images showed unclassified MoD user names, passwords, and computer screens on a restricted system. The passwords and user names shown have now been reset as a precaution and we are satisfied the images do not contravene security regulations. All the photos have now been amended and reissued.”
