WHEN the Royal Family are not busy meeting the public and going on trips around the world, it turns out they are more like us than we might think.
Away from the public eye, many of the Royal Family have a number of secret hobbies and passions.
Some, like Princess Anne and Zara Tindall have put their talents on full display for all to see – given their horse riding prowess – whilst others appear to have kept their passions a bit closer to their chest.
And it appears that many of the royal children are just like our kids – they love to get outside and try new things, from horse riding and gymnastics to football and dancing.
Here, we take a close-up look at the Royal Family’s secret hobbies – from William‘s passion many dads can relate to, to Princess Kate‘s beloved exotic activity that allows her to be unrecognisable from the public.
Prince William
Just last week, news hit the headlines that Prince William, 42, has a secret hobby that many dads can relate to.
It turns out that William’s heart-warming hobby has become a key part of his family life, as it’s also very important to his children.
While receiving an MBE from Prince William, radio presenter Simon Mayo discussed the Prince’s music taste with him.
Posting on social media, Mayo wrote: “So this happened. Prince William did the pinning. A class act! We talked about Radio 1 and how he loved Faithless/Insomnia and Spiller/Groovejet. I suggested that’s he was clearly a bit of a clubber…”
He continued: “He said maybe a secret clubber. I plugged Drivetime on GHR obviously, suggested he was just the right age to be joining us…”
Not only does Prince William love music and is potentially a “secret clubber” but two of his kids, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, also share his love for listening to music.
The two young royals reportedly fight over who gets to choose what they listen to as they get ready for school.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Untold secrets from the King’s Coronation and star-studded State Banquets laid bare by royal legends” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6365383070112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Speaking on Apple‘s Time To Walk podcast, William said in December last year: “Most mornings there’s a massive fight between Charlotte and George as to what song is played.”
As for how he gets around the argument, William admitted that he’s implemented a musical rota, alternating who gets to choose the music on which day – and there is one song in particular the royals love – Shakira‘s ‘Waka Waka’.
But Prince William himself likes to listen to something a bit different to Shakira – he prefers rock.
He said: “There’s nothing better than, on a Monday morning, when you’re a bit bleary-eyed after the weekend and trying to get yourself back into the grind of the week, listening to AC/DC’s Thunderstruck.”
The future king added: “It absolutely wakes you up, puts your week in the best mood possible, and you feel like you can take on anything and anyone.”
Kate Middleton
Whilst William is busy listening to rock music on his days off, his wife, Kate Middleton, 42, has a slightly more exotic hobby.
The Princess has picked up a hobby that allows her to be largely unrecognisable from the public – she loves snorkelling and diving.
It’s a passion she shares with William, who is reportedly planning a ‘second honeymoon’ for the pair.
It comes after the couple were captured on camera enjoying one of their favourite pastimes during a visit to the Caribbean in 2022.
Kate and William embarked on a week-long tour to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas in order to commemorate the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Despite their jam-packed schedule, the couple, who are both experienced divers, were able to slip away unnoticed during the second day of their royal tour to enjoy some water activities.
In a video shared on their official social media pages and taken by photographer Matt Porteous, the royals were seen jumping off the back of a boat, swimming underwater, and giving each other the ‘okay’ hand signal, as they took in the beautiful local marine life.
Kate looked unrecognisable in the clip, sporting a wetsuit, flippers, goggles and a snorkel, with her long hair tied back in a ponytail.
Kate became a qualified diver back in 2015, when she successfully completed the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Advanced Open Water Diver qualification.
And when it comes to swimming, it’s not only exploring the ocean or just relaxing in a warm pool that the Princess enjoys, but she has also admitted to being quite the fan of cold-water swimming, something her husband thinks is “crazy”.
Kate previously explained: “Cold swimming – the colder, the better.
“I absolutely love it. Slightly to the point where William’s [saying] ‘You’re crazy’ and it’s dark and it’s raining.
“I will go and seek out cold water. I love it.”
Prince George
Last year, it was reported that Prince George, 11, who has been known to love archery, was learning to fly.
During his summer holidays off school, the young royal was spotted enjoying his first flight.
An onlooker at the Berkshire airfield said: “He loved it. It’s the right time to start.
“The Royal Family has a proud tradition of flying and it looks like George is next in line.
“His parents watched George take flight from the safety of the ground but he flew with an instructor and loved it.”
But not only is George now a fan of flying, he also shares his father’s love of music.
In addition to learning to play the guitar, George is also into sport and shares a love of tennis with his mum.
William and Kate installed a tennis court at their country home in Norfolk so that they and their children could practice playing, and both George and Charlotte have lessons at Hurlingham Club in London.
Kate previously revealed that George has also hit a ball with his favourite tennis player, Roger Federer.
And if that wasn’t enough, like his sister, busy George also enjoys horse riding too.
Back in 2018, a source told HELLO! how Zara Tindall got involved: “William and Kate were really keen to get George riding – it’s something all the royals do and the whole family adore animals.
“But obviously he’s only small so they didn’t want to put him on a big horse.
“They asked Zara if they could use one of her Shetland ponies and he’s been learning to ride on one of those.”
Princess Charlotte
Like her older brother, Princess Charlotte, nine, has many hobbies.
Not only has she taken a leap out of her late grandmother’s book with her love of dancing and ballet, but she also loves gymnastics too.
Kate previously said: “Charlotte is really into gymnastics, she’s doing cartwheels, handstands, everything.
“It’s so good for their basic skills of balance and coordination.”
And during a visit to Birmingham in 2022 for the Commonwealth Games, Charlotte revealed that gymnastics takes the top spot as her favourite sport.
Chief executive of Sports Aid Tim Lawler revealed what the young princess said during a chat at the event, as he said: “She really, really loved seeing the swimming, but she’s interested in the gymnastics.
“While they are trying lots of different sports at home, when I asked her about sport she answered very easily and said ‘It’s gymnastics that I like’.”
But not only this, Charlotte is also a fan of football too.
Not only did she watch the Euros back in the summer, but Prince William revealed to the Lionesses that his daughter enjoys playing in goal.
Prince William previously shared that Princess Charlotte has a passion for football, telling the team: “Charlotte wants me to tell you she’s really good in goal…a budding star for the future!”
Prince Louis
Whilst his older siblings are learning to fly planes and bending over backwards doing gymnastics, Prince Louis, six, appears to be going down the musical route with his special hobby.
Just two months ago, Prince William revealed that the six-year-old has picked up a very loud new hobby.
The Prince of Wales attended the 2024 Tusk Conservation Awards at the Savoy Hotel in London and confessed that cheeky Louis, known for his boisterous personality, has started to play the drums, joking that it makes life at Windsor very loud.
Laughing, William admitted: “My youngest is learning the drums.
“That’s why I spend my entire life with my fingers in my ears.”
Since Louis’ new passion was revealed, pop sensation Peter Andre has dished out advice to the royals.
He issued a few words of wisdom in his OK! Magazine column and wrote: “Prince William has said that his son, Louis, is learning the drums and I love that. Louis the drummer, he could be in the biggest band of all time – you never know!
“William joked that he always has his fingers in his ears and I think every dad is like that; when kids get into any instrument, we’re encouraging but then realise how loud it is – especially drums.”
The Mysterious Girl singer said the Prince and Princess of Wales may need to “invest in electric drums” to limit the noise of a traditional drum kit, but added: “But aside from noise, he should keep playing – ‘Prince Louis The Drummer’ has a ring to it.”:
King Charles
Whilst many of us are aware of King Charles’ love of gardening, it turns out that our King has a few hidden, sporty talents.
Whilst the monarch, 76, absolutely loves the outdoors and is known for his environmental endeavours, he’s also a keen fisher, hiker and even a hill runner.
In 2020, his wife, Queen Camilla, shared: “He’ll walk and walk and walk.
“He’s like a mountain goat, he leaves everybody miles behind.”
[quote credit=”King Charles”]Rather like some people need a cigarette, I need a walk[/quote]She added: “Whether he’s hedge-laying in the pouring rain, striding, like a mountain goat, up impossibly steep Highland hills, planting trees in the arboretum or pruning at Highgrove, this is where he finds true peace.”
The King has opened up about his passion for walking and when speaking ahead of his guest editor appearance on TV’s Countryfile show, he told Radio Times: “Walking is a terribly important thing for me.
“Rather like some people need a cigarette, I need a walk. I find it stimulates the thinking and the reflecting.”
Queen Camilla
Whilst her husband is out walking, it appears that Queen Camilla, 77, has a hobby that takes place inside.
Whilst Queen Camilla previously claims that she loves being a grandmother and would ‘recommend it to everybody’, she also shared the game she can’t get enough of on her iPad.
It turns out that Camilla is a fan of Wordle – a daily word puzzle game – and enjoys playing it with her granddaughter.
Camilla previously said: “She’ll text me to say, ‘I’ve done it in three’, and I say, ‘Sorry, I’ve done it in two today’.
“It’s very satisfactory when it tells you how brilliant you are.”
But not only this, Camilla also used to enjoy a somewhat ‘unusual’ hobby, until tragedy struck in 2024.
It turns out that Camilla, who loves reading, enjoyed turning a page or two with her dogs.
Author David Seow revealed that he sent a copy of his book, The Royal Pup Pack: Catastrophe At The Palace, to Queen Camilla via Buckingham Palace.
The author then took to Instagram to share a letter he received from Camilla, dated November 4, 2024, which said: “Many thanks for your kind letter and for sending me a copy of your new book, which I much look forward to reading.”
She continued, “Please keep writing – the world needs authors and artists!”
Camilla then signed the letter by hand, and wrote a personal note underneath, saying, “My dogs enjoyed it too!”
But unfortunately, Camilla was left “heartbroken” in November as her beloved Jack Russell Terrier, Beth, died, which may have put Camilla’s “unusual” hobby of reading with her pets on pause.
Prince Harry
The Duke of Sussex, 40, is quite the sportsman, known for his love of polo and rugby.
During his youth, Prince Harry was also a keen skier and in his memoir Spare, he called the adrenaline-filled sport “sacred” and “symbolic” for him.
Not only this, but also during his younger days, the Duke was interested in hunting too.
However, after leaving the Royal Family in 2020, Prince Harry appears to have developed a new hobby from his Montecito mansion – and it might surprise you.
Meghan Markle revealed that since moving to California, Harry spends most of his days riding his bike or taking his Labrador for strolls on the beach.
His typical day involves meditation first thing in the morning for around 30-40 minutes which is then followed by a workout with his personal trainers.
He also enjoys a lesser-known favourite pastime, which Meghan revealed during their 2022 Netflix series.
Meghan was seen recording Harry and their son Archie together in the garden as they stood near a bird feeder as Hummingbirds made their way to the pair.
Meghan was then heard revealing her husband’s favourite hobby, as she confirmed: “Papa is a bird watcher so this is a really big moment for him.”
Meghan Markle
And whilst Harry is bird watching, it turns out that Meghan Markle has pursued a very interesting talent.
Alongside her acting career, the Duchess of Sussex, 43, was keen to spend time on her hidden talent – calligraphy.
Meghan picked up the hobby during handwriting classes in Catholic school and some of her big gigs included Paula Patton and Robin Thicke‘s wedding invitations and Dolce & Gabbana’s celebrity correspondences.
Speaking about her secret passion to Esquire, the mum-of-two said: “I would sit there with a little white tube sock on my hand so no hand oils got on the card, trying to pay my bills while auditioning.
“I’m glad that in the land of no one seeming to appreciate a handwritten note anymore that I can try to keep that alive.”
Queen Elizabeth II
Before the late Queen passed away in September 2022, she was known for her love of horse racing.
However, the monarch also enjoyed a very different kind of race: pigeon racing.
The Royal Family had been racing pigeons since 1886 after several birds were gifted to them by King Leopold II of Belgium, and during her youth, young Princess Elizabeth became very interested.
The monarch was a keen racer and her birds won every major pigeon racing tournament in the north and south of the UK, according to the Royal Pigeon Racing association website.
The late Queen was also patron of several pigeon racing societies, including the Royal Pigeon Racing Association and the National Flying Club.
Her pigeons were homed in a royal loft on the Sandringham estate, from where the birds wearing the monarch’s cypher on their legs would travel in boxes bearing the royal crest to compete in races.
The royal loft got a £40,000 renovation in 2015 when the Queen won planning permission to build a new residence, complete with top-of-the range nesting boxes for her 200 pigeons.