What proverbial British stiff upper lip and what Royal protocol that can never be broken? A video of Prince William, the future King of the UK, has emerged, showing him casually riding his electric scooter on Windsor Castle grounds.
Like a commoner, Prince William was clearly having fun.
Last summer, word leaked to the British tabloids that Prince William, ever the keen environmentalist, had treated himself to a $6,000 electric scooter. It wasn't a whim or anything like that, either. According to unnamed sources probably coming directly from the Prince's PR team, he'd bought it for the daily commute to and from his home at Adelaide Cottage and Windsor Castle, where the King, his father, lives.
In case you're not familiar with the living situation of members of the British Royal Family, King Charles II counts on Windsor as his primary residence. Adelaide Cottage is no commoner's idea of cottage but is still relatively modest by royal standards, and it serves as the Cambridges' home. Prince William, Princess Kate, and their three children call it home.
The distance between Adelaide and Windsor is a 2- or 3-mile round trip (3.2-4.8 km), and Prince William used to do it by car whenever he needed to talk to the King. The e-scooter was, apparently, a more sustainable way of doing the commute and definitely more efficient than walking. This must sound familiar because it's exactly why e-scooters have become so ubiquitous.
Photo: ToMove
The make and model of the e-scooter Prince William bought were never revealed. Nothing much came after the initial report, prompting even royalists to assume it had been just an unfounded rumor. One year later, we have video evidence in the form of a short clip that made its way to the socials.
You can see it below. Prince William, dressed in his trademark blue sweater with a white shirt combo, wearing shades, is zooming into Windsor on his e-scooter. The video is too blurry to tell with complete certainty, but he seems to have having a blast – much like us peasants do whenever we ride.
Riding an electric scooter on public roads in the UK is illegal, this being one of the few countries to have resisted the original wave that brought these two-wheelers onto every street and many households. Prince William is not falling foul of the law, though: you can still ride an e-scooter in the UK on private land, after you've obtained the owner's permission, and even on public streets if the machine is part of a ride-share program.
This is definitely not a ride-share scooter, so we're assuming the King gave his blessing for William's option of personal mobility. Local outlets reached out to Kensington Palace for comment, but don't hold your breath for it: even with visual confirmation of the acquisition, Royal protocol will probably kick in.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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