Prince William was asked a rare question about life as a member of the royal family on Thursday as he visited northeast Scotland with wife, Kate.
The Prince and Princess of Wales (known by the Scottish titles of Duke and Duchess of Rothesay while in the country) visited communities in Moray and Inverness where they met with groups of children at Burghead Primary School.
In news footage of the prince speaking with the children, he was overheard being asked a series of questions by the group, including what his favorite soccer team was and whether it is "tricky being a prince."
"Is it tricky being a prince?" William repeated, before dodging any complicated response by saying: "It's tricky being a pilot...how's that for an answer?"
@royalfamilychannel ‘Im Married To William’: Watch As The Prince And Princess Of Wales Meet Inquisitive Kids In Scotland. #princewilliam #princesscatherine #scotland #funny #shorts ♬ original sound - The Royal Family Channel
Newsweek reached out to Kensington Palace for comment via email.
William is a trained helicopter pilot, having spent time in Britain's Royal Air Force as a search and rescue pilot before joining the air ambulance service after retiring from the armed forces.
In 2017 the prince left his role as a professional pilot to take up royal duties full-time, though still flies recreationally.
William's dodging of the question addressing the difficulties associated with royal life comes as the prince has faced a series of public challenges over the past three years, notably connected with younger brother, Prince Harry.
In 2020, Harry and wife, Meghan Markle, left Britain after splitting from the monarchy and have since cited problems with the media, royal aides and family members (including William) as part of their motivation for doing so.
In January 2023, Harry published his record-breaking memoir, Spare, which included a number of damaging claims against William and unflattering descriptions.
Among these, the prince alleged that his older brother physically attacked him in a 2019 argument at Kensington Palace over Meghan's treatment of palace staff which left him with visible injuries.
William did not respond to the claims made by his brother, in line with a blanket "no comment" position taken by Buckingham Palace and the wider royal family.
Over the past year, William has also seen his public and working profile increase as he took on the senior royal role of Prince of Wales following the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
In this capacity he attended the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla in May, which marked the first event he had attended with Harry since Spare's publication. Though both brothers took their seats in Westminster Abbey for their father's historic ceremony, no public interactions between the two were caught on camera.
William was not the only royal to face questioning from schoolchildren in Scotland on Thursday. The Princess of Wales was also caught on camera chatting with groups at Burghead Primary School, where she was asked: "Who are you?"
"Who am I? I'm married to William," she answered.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
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