One of the most frequently asked questions when you’re young is, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
For most members of the royal family, their careers are laid out for them from the moment they arrive in the world. However, this hasn’t stopped them from having a range of rather unexpected career ambitions in the past.
One of the most recently revealed royal career ambitions was that of Prince George, who, while enjoying a delicious pizza lunch at Wiveton Hall Cafe in Holt, Norfolk, shared that he wanted to become a pizza chef.
The cafe owner, Desmond MacCarthy, told The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden what George said when he was shown the restaurant’s wood-fired pizza oven.
The 11-year-old royal reportedly exclaimed, “That’s what I want to do when I grow up!”
Prince William
The Prince of Wales’s former career ambition holds a rather bittersweet sentiment. According to royal author Robert Jobson, William once told his mother, Princess Diana, that he wanted to become a policeman “so he could protect her.”
Robert revealed this in his 2006 book, William’s Princess. “Whenever Diana felt uncertain, William was there for her,” the author wrote. “He once told her he wanted to be a policeman so he could protect her. Her heart must have ached with love at his earnest words.”
Prince Harry
The Duke of Sussex’s former career ambition was also inspired by his mother—specifically, their regular skiing holidays. In his memoir Spare, Harry revealed he once considered a career in a fondue hut.
“For several years I’d talked in all seriousness about working at the ski resort in Lech am Arlberg, where Mummy used to take us,” he penned.
“Specifically, I wanted to work at the fondue hut in the center of town, which Mummy loved. That fondue could change your life. (I really was that mad.) But then I told Pa I’d given up the fondue fantasy, and he sighed with relief.”
Prince Archie
Prince Harry’s eldest son, Prince Archie, has, according to his father, shared many ideas for future careers. The Duke revealed in his Heart of Invictus docuseries: “When I talk to my son Archie about what he wants to be when he grows up, some days it’s an astronaut, other days it’s a pilot—a helicopter pilot, obviously—or Kwazii from Octonauts.“
The Princess of Wales
The Princess of Wales didn’t enter public consciousness until her relationship with her now-husband, Prince William. However, in 2016, she revealed an alternative career interest.
According to People, Kate shared in a conversation with 15-year-old Bea Hodge from Wadebridge Young Farmers that she’d “secretly like to be a young farmer.”
“She said she was teaching George and Charlotte all about the farm at Sandringham. She’s been teaching George the difference between barley and wheat and everything they grow on the farm there,” Bea shared with reporters. “She wants the children to learn all about farming and the apples in their orchard. She said she’d secretly like to be a young farmer.”
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