Prince William’s unexpected new hobby – and it makes George, Charlotte and Louis very proud

Prince William has proved to be a ‘natural’ at a surprising sport – and it will have gone down a storm with his three young children.

Both William and wife Kate love to stay active and will throw themselves into any games on royal engagements – often revealing their competitive sides in the process. And the future King gave it his all when he took part in a dragon boat race in Singapore in November 2023, rowing his way to victory.

William, wearing a black cap and white polo shirt, was praised by his teammates from the British Dragons, with one noting that he “didn’t miss a stroke” after he took part in a race on a 22-seater boat with locals, British expats living in Singapore and representatives from across the Commonwealth.

In response, William said, “I love sports” before noting he had just been following “the key man in front of me”, pointing at the captain, before admitting he was “terrified” that if he got the rhythm of the paddle wrong he would “clash with the whole side”. He also praised the drummer at the bow of the boat saying “the drum was very good, a very good rhythm”.

William thanked the mixed gender crew, with representation from 14 nationalities including eight Commonwealth nations, and said he “really enjoyed” the race before leaving. Captain of the team, Chris Bosher, said that the Prince was “super engaged from the moment he walked down the pontoon to the moment he finished”.

He added: “He was excellent, he said, ‘Seriously guys, I want us to win this’. After he was asking about the race calendar and we mentioned we’d got a race coming up in two weeks and really he should come back and we’ll give him a seat on the boat. He said it’s quite a refreshing break from the normal routine, so this was right up his street.”

Prince William enjoys a number of sports, and can now add dragon boats to his list of achievements. His children, George, Charlotte, and Louis, will no doubt have been impressed – they are following in their parents’ footsteps and enjoy playing a range of sports, from football and rugby to tennis and netball.

There is one daring activity they will not be taking part in anytime soon, however. Princess Kate previously revealed that one of her husband’s passions utterly terrifies her and voiced her concern that George will want to give it a go at some point in the future. Kate revealed all in 2015 when the royal couple paid a visit to the Scottish city of Dundee , during which they participated in a family fun day.

It’s no secret that William used to love riding motorbikes in his youth, and Kate was asked during the royal engagement whether William would still ride from time to time. She admitted: “He’s still riding it. It always fills me with horror when he goes out on it. I’m terrified. Hopefully, I’m going to keep George off it.”

At the time, the couple’s eldest son was just two, while his younger sister Charlotte was only just a few months old. And it seems becoming a father had a major impact on William’s outlook. The Prince updated royal fans on his riding habits in 2018, after the birth of their third child, Prince Louis . During a trip to the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races, William explained that he wasn’t riding anymore, saying: “I’m a dad of three . I have to tone it down. I miss the big trips, for me biking was always about being with everybody else.”