Prince William amused fans last week when he was spotted riding around Windsor Castle on an electric scooter. The Prince of Wales, 42, was seen zooming through the castle gates – without a helmet – on the modern mode of transport, which he reportedly bought last July.
But royal sources have claimed that it’s left wife Kate Middleton, who has been undergoing preventative chemotherapy following her cancer diagnosis, feeling worried over his safety. "William is so busy – he’s exhausted all the time with everything he’s got on his plate, so whizzing around on a scooter with no helmet is tempting fate,” an insider tells Closer.
“If he takes a fall, he could really hurt himself and the last thing anyone needs right now is for him to end up in the hospital. They have enough to deal with as it is. Kate does her best not to nag him, but she was not pleased to find out he had neglected to wear his helmet and now she’s stressing about the worst-case scenario and demanding he always wears a helmet.”
However, it appear she’s worried about William, who is dad to Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six, with Kate, 42, shrugging off her words of warning.
“William has reassured Kate that the scooter hardly gets going at any sort of speed, as far as he’s concerned there’s zero reason to worry. Kate was pretty disappointed that he’d be so reckless but trusts him to be more careful in the future.”
William – who is thought to have purchased the e-scooter to make it easier for him to travel to see the King – has previously spoken of his love for motorbikes and was even seen riding one in London on the eve of his wedding in 2011.
But he has put the hobby on the back burner in recent years. “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,” he said in 2018.
The source continues, “He’s a very adventurous guy who tends to push the limits, there’s no doubt he loves to get an adrenaline rush when he can, so she can’t help but worry. It doesn’t help that he’s running on empty most days, he’s always racing from one meeting to the next and never has any downtime. The fact that he’s under such a time crunch that he has to zip around Buckingham Palace on an electric scooter, rather than walking, gives a glimpse into how busy he is.
“But he insists the scooter riding is more about having fun than anything else – he’s no daredevil really – and has promised Kate there’s nothing to worry about, it’s so tame. That hasn’t eased her mind, and she doesn’t seem inclined to let it go so if William’s smart he’ll just make her happy and wear a helmet every time. The good news is Kate’s feeling better, but after so many months of having William tell her to take care of her health, she just wishes he would do the same.”
It’s been a tough time for the family, with Kate announcing in March that, following abdominal surgery in January, further tests revealed that cancer had been present. She said in a statement, “William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” before adding that they needed “some time, space and privacy”.
She’s since stepped back from the public eye to recover, while William has been holding the fort down – both at home and at work. It’s believed that while Kate was in hospital, the future monarch was “keeping things as normal as possible” for the children. He’s also made several solo appearances over the past few months.
However, Kate delighted the nation when she made a brief return to the spotlight to attend Trooping the Colour last month, marking her first official engagement since Christmas. She said she was making “good progress” but added that there are “good days and bad days”. She continued, “I am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty. Taking each day as it comes, listening to my body, and allowing myself to take this much needed time to heal.”
Kate also presented the men’s trophies at the Wimbledon final in her role as Patron of the All England Lawn tennis club to winner Carlos Alcaraz and runner-up Novak Djokovic. She attended the tournament with daughter Charlotte and sister Pippa Middleton. "Great to be back at Wimbledon! There's nothing quite like the Championships," she shared afterwards.
Former royal butler Paul Burrell told Closer last week that the decision came down to William, who is said to be very protective of his wife. “William controls this household and William will decide whether she’s well enough to do this because he’s the one that protects the family fiercely,” he said before her appearance.
“He’s the one who protects their privacy, and he knows what it all entails to go out into the public – he’s seen it since he was a very young boy stood beside his mother. There’s no way he’s going to subject Kate to intrusion that she can’t handle. He’s so fiercely protective.”
Paul – who knew William when he worked as butler to Diana, Princess of Wales, until her death in August 1997 – added, “With William by her side, Kate’s safe because he will take care of her and would never let anyone harm her. I think she trusts William implicitly and his say is the final say.”