Prince William's Mistaken Identity Moment Shared by Fans

Prince William's humorous interaction with a young person waiting to see him during a royal engagement has been shared to social media, after the royal responded to a case of mistaken identity.

William met with a number of children and their families during a walkabout in Windsor, Berkshire, England on May 7. It was the day after King Charles and Queen Camilla's coronation in Westminster Abbey in London. As part of the celebrations, a large concert was held in the grounds of Windsor Castle, with William and his wife, Kate, meeting crowds in the castle's "Long Walk" beforehand.

In a clip from the event that has resurfaced on TikTok, reposted on July 6 by user theroyalwatcher, William meets a young boy who asks the royal: "How long until we are going to be able to see Prince William?"

To this, the prince smiles and responds with a wink at the boy's parent: "We don't know where he is! Have you seen him yet?"

After this, William asks the young boy if he knew what his name was, to which the child responded: "Uh...the government?"

"I'm not the government," William says with a laugh. "Do I look like the government, do I?"

Finally, the prince identifies himself as "William too," and the boy recognized his royal conversation partner. "You're Prince William?" he said. "That's Prince William, mommy."

The clip prompted numerous comments praising the prince and his ability to interact with children. William is a father of three, to Prince George (born in 2013); Princess Charlotte (born, 2015); and Prince Louis (born, 2018).

"I love this! He's such a lovely lovely man. Taking interest in everything the lil lad said," wrote one TikTok user of the clip.

"This is the cutest thing I've ever seen," posted another, with a further comment reading: "He's a natural. Charismatic guy."

William has seen his public profile increase over the past 12 months. He rose from second to first in line to the throne in September 2022, following the death of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II.

As one of his first acts as monarch, King Charles III made William and Kate the new Prince and Princess of Wales, the most senior royal titles in Britain after those held by the sovereign.

Charles had been made Prince of Wales in 1958, though his investiture was not held until July 1969, and he held the title for over five decades. The last Princess of Wales to use the title was Princess Diana up until her death in 1997. Today, she is still referred to by the title "Diana, Princess of Wales." Queen Camilla was also technically the Princess of Wales following her marriage to Charles in 2005, though she did not use the title out of respect for Diana.

With William's increased share of the royal spotlight, his fans have gone back through the digital archives of his public appearances and posted several widely shared and viewed videos.

This July, a clip of William modeling for a charity photoshoot in 2010 went viral. In June, there was another resurfaced clip, from 2013, showing the prince performing an impromptu singalong with pop star Taylor Swift at Kensington Palace, London.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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