Prince William made a surprise appearance on The Graham Norton Show to promote the upcoming Earthshot Prize ceremony in Mumbai, India, and along with discussing the environmental award, he chatted about his former dream jobs.
During the episode, which will air Friday night, October 23 in the U.K., the Prince of Wales was joined by Earthshot ambassadors Robert Irwin, Cate Blanchett and Hannah Waddingham. When the conversation turned to what William liked to do for fun, he discussed his love of “getting immersed in deep-thinking films” along with reality TV.
However, the Prince of Wales admitted that there was a point when he fantasized about taking on a role other than being the future King.
“I did want to be a policeman when I was younger, I thought I could make a good one,” Prince William said, per the Telegraph. “And then I went through a phase of wanting to be a DJ—I wasn’t very good.”
Royal biographer Robert Jobson reflected on William’s police aspirations in his 2010 book William And Kate: The Love Story—A Celebration Of The Wedding Of The Century.
"Whenever Diana felt uncertain, William was there for her," Jobson wrote. “He once told her he wanted to be a policeman so that he could protect her. Her heart must have ached with love at his earnest words."
Although DJing and policing didn’t work out, Prince William told Norton that the innovative projects being introduced by Earthshot Prize winners keep his “environmental anxiety at bay.”
“For many years I was hearing stories about environment issues and one thing that struck me was the negativity and doom which got me down,” William said. “I thought we could do something more powerful and more optimistic and the idea of an awards ceremony came about and we could talk about urgency and optimism together.”