bitchy | A Daily Mail reporter played beer pong with Prince William at a house party in 2012

Here are some photos of Prince William and Kate in 2012, when they were the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Their wedding was the year before, and in 2012, we were told endlessly that Kate would “hit the ground running” AND that she was taking her time to learn the job. In the second half of 2012, William and Kate skipped the Paralympics to go on vacation in France, and a paparazzo got shots of them cavorting in various stages of undress. William was furious, he sued, he won. By the end of the year, the Cambridges announced that they were expecting their first child (Prince George would be born in July 2013).

All of this is me setting the scene – W&K were still sort of living in Wales, but QEII had given them Apartment 1A in Kensington Palace, a lavish 21-room mini-mansion within a palace, which was being renovated and decorated in 2012. Kate was still spending a lot of time in Bucklebury with her parents, and William still behaved like a bachelor at times. Apparently, even when Kate was pregnant (and sick as a dog), William was still having “bachelor weekends” at house parties with his mates.

Prince William has proved himself to be a man of many talents over the years – but his mastery of a popular party game will surprise even the most dedicated royal fans. With a ‘great aim’, the Prince of Wales was ‘really good’ at US-born drinking game beer pong, The Mail on Sunday’s Editor-at-Large, Charlotte Griffiths, has recalled. In fact, he was once such a skilled competitor that, 13 years ago, he successfully taught Charlotte how to play.

The former Diary Editor, who has been reporting on royals for 15 years, met William at a country house party in 2012. Charlotte told Femail: ‘I was staying at a friend’s house for the weekend and, surprise, surprise, Prince William was there. All the lads started playing beer pong and I didn’t actually know the rules, so I was looking around, not knowing what to do, and there comes my knight in shining armour, Prince William, and he offered to teach me how to play.’

Charlotte said that ‘charming’ William set her up for success by explaining the rules of the game, which challenges players to bounce a ping pong ball into a beer-filled cup.

‘It was when Catherine was expecting Prince George,’ she added. ‘He was so charming and nice.’

Unfazed by the fact that she was a journalist, Charlotte remembers William not only as ‘unfailingly polite and warm’ but also ‘fun’.

[From The Daily Mail]

I actually love this sub-genre of royal reporting, it’s so unfailingly sycophantic and they always tell on themselves. “I saw William at the hospital when he was visiting Kate!” No you didn’t, but your lie is fascinating. “I spoke to Carole Middleton at the races!” I bet you did, and I bet she’s sloshed her way to you many times over the years. And now this: Kate was in her first trimester and barfing her guts out, and William was going solo to house parties where he taught the rules of beer pong to a royal reporter. William was 30 years old at the time. What an interesting moment to tell this story.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.