Prince William’s Past As Blue-Collar Worker Revealed In New Book

Prince William and Duchess Kate are well known for their love of the simpler things in life, from taking the train back from vacation to taking Prince George on a play date with other tots while on an official visit. Now it seems Prince William’s desire to exit the royal bubble goes back many years — at least to 2005, when the heir to the throne spent two weeks working below the stairs at an English estate.

According to a new book, Prince William almost escaped notice when he was dressed in overalls and carrying planks of wood while working at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. Christine Robinson, who has spent 40 years in and around Chatsworth, becoming Head Housekeeper eight years ago, recounted the time when the royal was unlike other workers who populate the grounds.

“He spent a week working around the estate and made sausage rolls and mince pies. Then he spent a week at the house, dressed in overalls, drinking tea and eating fish and chips with the rest of the housemen and joiners. We were staging a ballet in the theatre, but discovered the stage was too short and had to be extended. He was carrying planks of wood through the shop dressed in workmen’s clothes.”

Robinson told the Sunday Express that while tourists often did a double-take, only two women were brave enough to approach William to confirm his identity. When they did so, he acknowledged he was the royal heir. The story is one of many Robinson tells in her memoir Chatsworth: The Housekeeper’s Tale.

Back in 2013, former aides to Princess Diana recalled how she raised her boys William and Harry with a sense of normalcy. The Star-Telegram published a report that claimed William, unlike his mother, grew up to be quite a good cook and often prepares meals for his wife on occasion. When he and his brother were children, Diana would sometimes put the formalities aside, often to the consternation of the boys’ caregivers.

“They’d… get ice cream and eat it from the tub. The nanny didn’t know they were doing it. She’d have insisted it went into a bowl when she was there, but they’d sit with the tub in the windowsill and eat just like normal kids.”

Meanwhile, as royal-watchers no doubt have heard, William and Kate’s own family continues to expand. Prince George celebrated his first birthday this past summer and the duchess is due to have baby number two in April 2015.

[Prince William Image: Google]