Prince William has given his strongest hint yet that Princess Kate has won him round to her "crazy" hobby of wild swimming. In a new edition of Country Life magazine, which he guest edited and which features a drawing of a Kingfisher by Prince George, William named swimming trunks among his favourite things and said he is "always tempted" to dive into a cold river.
William's 'crazy' verdict on Kate's hobby
While both William and Kate are strong swimmers, it is the Princess's preference for wild swimming that William has previously called "crazy". Catherine has been a fan of swimming in open bodies of water for years, telling a podcast in 2023 she loves "swimming wherever I can". She added: "Cold swimming - the colder, the better. I absolutely love it."
Her obsession with an ice-cold dip "got to the point where William's [saying] 'you're crazy' and it's dark and it's raining", she added.
Clean rivers and a love of running water
Writing in Country Life, William said: "I'd love us to have rivers that are clean enough for all of us to swim in. There's something about the sound of running water that I find impossible to resist.
"If I come across a beautiful stretch of river on a walk, I'm always tempted to jump in for a quick dip in the cold water, so it pays to be prepared."
An aquatic family
William is a strong swimmer, playing water polo while at Eton and St Andrews University, reports Woman and Home magazine. The aquatic habit appears to run in the family, as William revealed in 2024 that his eldest son Prince George "loves scuba diving".
In a conversation with British Olympic swimmer Tom Dean, he said: "Catherine and I both adore swimming. George loves scuba diving. He was 10 years old, we took him under, thinking he'd freak out, but he absolutely loved it. It's just introduced him to the world of water."
