Prince William is known for his sensitivity and grace and we applaud him for speaking up about issues such as mental health and dealing with grief.
But even a future King can stumble on his words, as we saw Prince William do on Thursday during the opening of London’s new Japan House, a centre that celebrates Japanese culture.
As Prince William chatted with a group of schoolchildren who were practicing picking up edamame with chopsticks he asked them whether they’d tried “much Chinese food” .
He quickly corrected his gaffe, which would have been worthy of his grandfather Prince Philip, by saying: “Um, Japanese food. Have you had much Japanese food? No? Not too much. Do you like sushi? It’s delicious, it really is yummy.”
The new centre houses a restaurant, shop and library as well as exhibition and workshop spaces, and aims to create a greater understanding of Japan among the British public. Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso also attended the opening.
Prince William also charmed the opening’s other attendees by revealing that he and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, were both partial to sushi.
“My wife and I love sushi. We might have to come down here for lunch when no-one else is in,” he said.
And he melted everyone’s hearts in the way he interacted with the schoolchildren:
One of the little boys told him flatly that he was tired. Prince William responded by laughing and asking him: “You’re tired are you?”
“Are you tired?” asked the boy.
“Yes, I am quite tired too,” Prince William admitted. “Has it been a long day for you too? Have you been enjoying your chopsticks?”
“No,” answered the boy.
“They are quite tricky I know,” William grinned.
Prince William told another little girl that she was very good at using her chopsticks and empathised with the kids on how “tricky” it was to pick up the edamame.
“The beans are quite tricky, they’re quite slippery,” he divulged.
That little slip-up has already been completely forgotten!
