Queen Elizabeth II gave Prince William a stern telling-off at Balmoral Castle in 1990 after he returned to the estate alone on his pony, leaving grooms "frantic" with worry, according to a new book by Anne Glenconner, former lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret.
In her upcoming book Trunks and Tiaras, due for release on October 8, Glenconner recounts how she heard "raised voices" outside one evening during a weekend shooting visit. Looking out of her window, she saw the Queen "tearing a strip" off the young prince, who was on his pony on the drive.
Grooms left frantic
Glenconner quietly moved away from the window and informed Princess Margaret of what she had witnessed. In an extract published by the Daily Mail, Glenconner wrote: "Later that evening, she said that apparently Prince William had been out riding with the groom and his cousins and had wheeled back from the group and returned to the castle on his own without letting anyone know."
She added: "The grooms had been frantic looking for him. You can imagine how terrified they were in case he had fallen and hit his head with no one knowing where he was. Princess Margaret said: 'The Queen was quite right to give him a rocket.'"
Other dressing-downs recalled
The 1990 incident was not the only time the late Queen was reported to have reprimanded Prince William. Hello! previously claimed she was "not impressed" by his conduct at Trooping the Colour in 2016, when he was 33.
Reporter Jack White explained: "As the family made an appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, William bent down to have a chat with little Prince George. But Her Majesty was not impressed. Clearly aware of the fact that thousands of eyes were on them, she appeared to tell her grandchild to stand up. And William did not waste any time in following granny's orders."
Prince Harry, standing directly beside him at the time, was "seemingly chuckling" at the tongue-wagging, but he too was "sure to correct" his posture as the Queen turned her gaze towards him.
William's own recollection
Prince William also recalled a separate incident in an interview with Sky News for the 2016 documentary The Queen at 90. He said that he and Peter Phillips, Princess Anne's son, had been chasing his sister Zara as she drove a go-kart, and she ended up being steered straight into a lamppost.
William said: "And the lamppost came down and nearly squashed her, and I remember my grandmother being the first person out at Balmoral running across the lawn in her kilt." He added: "[She] came charging over and gave us the most almighty b******ing, and that sort of stuck in my mind from that moment on."
