Prince William has praised the late Queen Elizabeth for giving him a “love of teatime” which he “never knew [he] needed”.
Prince William has shared his memories of Queen Elizabeth
The 44-year-old royal has recorded a short video for a digital memorial to his late grandmother, which is also open to the public to share some of their memories of the monarch – who died in September 2022 – and recalled how he often used to visit the queen and her late husband, Prince Philip, to catch up over tea and cake at Windsor Castle when he was student at nearby Eton College.
Speaking in a video filmed at Windsor Castle, William said: “Whilst I had the privilege to know the late Queen better than most, some of my fondest memories of my grandmother are from here in Windsor.
“I remember many a quiet afternoon, having tea with her and my grandfather at the castle, chatting, sharing stories, and seeing how completely at ease she was here, surrounded by family and her much-loved dogs and horses.
“To this day, she’s given me a love of teatime that I never knew I needed.”
The prince – who lives on the Windsor estate with wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, and their children Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 11, and eight-year-old Prince Louis – particularly cherishes his memories of seeing the queen “off-duty” and relaxed, riding her beloved horses.
He added: “Watching her ride her horses in the Great Park, even well into her later years, showed a side of Granny the world didn’t often see – off-duty, relaxed and utterly at home.
“These moments with my grandmother are ones I’ll always hold dear.”
The digital memorial was launched in April this year to mark what would have been the queen’s 100th birthday. Other contributors have included the likes of Olympic diver Tom Daley, artist Dame Tracey Emin, and children’s TV presenter Baroness Floella Benjamin.
In his contribution, Tom recalled getting “told off” when he sat on the queen’s throne during a reception at Buckingham Palace for athletes who had competed in the Beijing Olympics.
He recalled: “As a 14 year old I was so excited to travel up from my hometown of Plymouth to get to London to be able to go into the palace for the very first time and everything was so regal, so grand and it was something that I had never ever experienced coming from the small town of Plymouth.
“I remember when the Queen came into the room everyone just, she always had this incredible presence and she came round and shook every single member of Team GB’s hand and she made sure to say hello to every single member of the team.
“Team GB is a big team and the fact that she was able to take the time to say hello and congratulations to every single member just shows you how much of a special person she was.
“I did later after saying hello to her, go and sit on her throne and I did get told off for that because at 14 years old, I didn’t realise that you’re not meant to sit on the reigning monarch’s throne.”
