Prince William once bought Kate Middleton a pair of binoculars as a romantic gift

Kate Middleton was left unimpressed by Prince William in their early courting days after the second-in-line bought his future wife a pair of binoculars as a gift.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, both 38, are spending lockdown at their Norfolk home Amner Hall with their children Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5Live’s That Peter Crouch podcast, which was recorded partially via Zoom and partially at Kensington Palace in March, the royal revealed he is ‘average at present buying’ and once put his foot in it after buying Kate the unusual gift.     

Kate Middleton was left unimpressed by Prince William in their early courting days after the second-in-line bought his future wife a pair of binoculars as a gift. Kate is pictured using binoculars while watching sailing in Weymouth at the 2012 Olympic games

William met England striker Peter Crouch and his co-hosts Tom Fordyce and Chris Stark for a special podcast, where Peter revealed he bought his model wife Abbey Clancey the same Mackintosh raincoat three years in a row. 

‘I did get my wife a pair of binoculars once – she’s never let me forget that,’ the Duke replied.

‘That was early on in the courtship that was. I wrapped them. They were really nice.

‘I was trying to convince myself about it. I was like, “But these are really amazing, look how far you can see!”

William and Kate, pictured visiting the London Ambulance Service 111 control room in Croydon in March, met in 2003 at St Andrew's University. William said his present faux pas was in the early days of the relationship

William and Kate, pictured visiting the London Ambulance Service 111 control room in Croydon in March, met in 2003 at St Andrew’s University. William said his present faux pas was in the early days of the relationship

‘She was looking at me going, ‘”They’re binoculars, what’s going on?”. It didn’t go well. Honestly I have no idea why I bought her a pair of binoculars’.

Prince William met Kate Middleton in 2003, when they were both students at University of St Andrews.

The pair wed eight years later in 2011 in a grand ceremony at Westminster Abbey. 

The candid comments come ahead of this weekend’s Heads Up FA Cup Final named after the duke’s mental health charity.

In a relaxed and informal chat, the future King also bought the podcast hosts a takeaway curry for the Samrat Indian restaurant in Ealing, west London and revealed that Queen’s 1975 Smash Hit Bohemian Rhapsody is his go-to Karaoke song. 

In a clip from the episode, William joked there must be ‘an Uber driver out there on the floor being frisked’ after he brought the trio a curry.

Available today, the podcast release comes after details from Finding Freedom, the new bombshell book on Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 38, was revealed at the weekend – laying bare the fractious relationship between the royal brothers.  

Entitled That Prince William Episode, the podcast sees the duke, Peter, Tom and Chris discuss the importance of talking about mental health, and the role that football can play in supporting people’s mental wellbeing.

Prince William has taken part in a special episode of Peter Crouch's podcast to talk about his Heads Up campaign. William invited Peter, as well as hosts Tom Fordyce and Chris Stark, to his Kensington Palace home, pictured, in March before finishing the episode via video call earlier this month

Prince William has taken part in a special episode of Peter Crouch’s podcast to talk about his Heads Up campaign. William invited Peter, as well as hosts Tom Fordyce and Chris Stark, to his Kensington Palace home, pictured, in March before finishing the episode via video call earlier this month

In a clip shared to Kensington Palace’s Instagram this morning, William said that he could see Prince George being Aston Villa’s ‘all time top goal scorer’ after Chris asked him: ‘What if he [Prince George] got really good at football? Can he do the job at be up front for Villa?’

When asked if what he would do if England had a ‘disastrous run of form’ Prince William said he would sack manager Gareth Southgate, much to the amusement of Peter. 

The Duke of Cambridge also reveals that he’s ‘not allowed anywhere near Kensington Palace’s Twitter’ but once took control of it after a particularly good game of football. 

The Duke of Cambridge (pictured earlier this month), 38, insisted 'it's a strength to talk about your mental health, not a weakness' when appearing on the BBC Radio Five Live¿s That Peter Crouch Podcast

The Duke of Cambridge (pictured earlier this month), 38, insisted ‘it’s a strength to talk about your mental health, not a weakness’ when appearing on the BBC Radio Five Live’s That Peter Crouch Podcast

‘They deliberately keep me away from that’ he explains. 

‘I have tried a couple times, when Liverpool did that amazing semi-final against Barcelona, I grabbed hold of the Twitter thing and I just posted it.

‘It was an amazing match, I was literally blown away by it. It was one of the best games of football I’ve ever seen and I got completely out of control, I was like “tweet that, get it out!”‘ 

The second-in-line added when his team Aston Villa have done well, he’s also felt the urge to tweet.

‘Nearly every Villa game we’ve won, which hasn’t been many this season, but nearly every Villa game, I’ve been trying to get hold of it and they keep me away. They keep me away from it now. I have to fight them for it!’ 

On the Heads Up campaign, William said: ‘We all have mental health, and we all have to stay mentally fit… It’s a strength to talk about your mental health, it’s not a weakness.

‘You know if you’re not feeling well, something’s bothering you, talk about it – it’s not a problem.’

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