Prince William ‘surprised' his father's playlist is not classical

Telegraph

24-04-2025

The Prince of Wales has said he was 'surprised' his father's Apple Music playlist was not classical.
Prince William was greeted with hugs and demands for selfies during a visit to Mentivity House youth club in south London on Thursday, where he proved himself a whizz at Mario Kart.
He revealed he had been 'swatting up' and had watched a YouTube video about the organisation, directed by Adeyemi Michael in partnership with Spotify.
Asked what he thought of the 17-song playlist released by the King recently for Apple Music Radio, the Prince laughed and said: 'I was expecting a lot of classical music so I was surprised.'
The podcast, called The King's Music Room, included hits by Kylie Minogue, Bob Marley and Grace Jones.
Mr Michael asked if he thought his father might have included some 'Garage and UK Funky', but William said: 'I'm not sure he'd know what that was.'
The Prince said he often turned to music to relax if he'd had 'a bit of a day', adding: 'I regularly go to Spotify to hear new artists.'
The Prince was dropped off around 150 yards from the community centre on the Aylesbury Estate near Elephant and Castle, and was greeted by Mentivity founder, Sayce Holmes-Lewis, who showed him the estate where he grew up.
As they strolled down the street, one enthusiastic resident, Oluwaseyi Soyebo-Idowu, 50, accosted the Prince, wrapping her arms around him as she declared: 'Let me give you a hug. I see a prince! A king of England!'
The Prince said: 'Do you want to come on the visit as well? Are we going to go around together?'
Intercepted by someone else asking for a selfie, he said: 'Go for it, you've got to be quick.'
Mentivity, founded in 2016, engages over 400 local young people weekly through mentoring programmes, school outreach and youth clubs.
The south London centre opened in March 2024 and welcomes children and teenagers from the local community, often providing meals donated by local restaurants.
The Prince took on a group of girls from the local Michael Faraday School at Mario Kart, proving a natural at the video game. He eventually beat 10-year-old Zia in a closely fought race.
'Brilliant!' he told her. 'Neck and neck the whole way. Well done, well played.'
Later, the Prince also joined a group of teenagers to play a football video game, set up in his honour as a match between his team, Aston Villa, and Bayern Munich.
'I'll only be ten seconds, I'm terrible at this,' he said, before giving up when his team was losing 2-0.
The Prince had a long and animated chat with a group of supporters and volunteers who work with the young people.
Jess Ioannou, a senior mentor, said: 'I think he could see the passion and drive. He said that early intervention was one of the most important things to prevent issues down the line such as homelessness or worse.'
Reiss Nelson, 25, the Arsenal footballer who is currently on loan to Fulham, is a long-time supporter of the organisation, having known Mr Holmes-Lewis since he was eight.
'He's been a big part of my life,' he said. 'Growing up in an area where there's not much going on. We are trying to give back. This is just the start, it's growing and helping so many kids get off the streets.'
The Prince asked some of the children how often they visited the club and what they did to relax.
'As long as you've got that one thing you can go and do,' he said. 'We've all got different things.'
He joked that Mr Holmes-Lewis, who is also 42, looked younger than him. 'You've aged well, you moisturise well,' he laughed.
He was clearly impressed with the organisation, saying 'there should be one in every single town'.
'Not everyone has Mentivity on their doorstep,' he told a round-table discussion hosted by Tim Campbell, a former winner and current advisor on The Apprentice, the BBC One show.
'It feels like you guys are there for the wider life lessons, not just school.
'You are like life coaches, slash apprenticeships – that's what you guys are doing. It's so important.'
The Prince added: 'Looking around the rest of the country, I can't think of a place that doesn't need a Mentivity, and that's troubling. How do you roll something like this out nationally?'
He admitted that the visit had got his 'head spinning' and he already had a few ideas about how to offer support
'What can we do to build something bigger and have a bigger reach without diluting what you do? I'm already thinking about that,' he said.
'There are others like you, but very few. When I find them, I want to join all the dots.'
As he left the centre after around 90 minutes, the Prince was mobbed by locals and posed for multiple selfies.