Kate and William are at odds over whether their son George will be allowed a motorbike. Photo / AP
Kate and William are at odds over whether their son George will be allowed a motorbike. Photo / AP
Duchess says no to George having a motorbike.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are united in most aspects of their parenting, but on one issue, it seems, there is trouble ahead: whether Prince George will be allowed a motorbike when he is older.
William has a passion for two-wheeled transport, and spent the night before his wedding riding around London on his Ducati.
Kate, however, is determined to put her foot down when it comes to their children, saying her husband's machines fill her with "horror". She told well-wishers in Dundee that she hates it when William rides his motorbikes because she thinks they are dangerous.
The royal couple were visiting the Scottish city in support of a festival challenging preconceived ideas about mental health.
As they arrived at the Dundee Rep Theatre, one of the venues for the event, Kate spoke to Fearghas Simpson, 28, who asked if the Duke was still riding his motorbike, a 285km/h Ducati that can go from 0-97km/h in 2.7 seconds.
"He's still riding it. It always fills me with horror when he goes out on it," she said. "I'm terrified. Hopefully, I'm going to keep George off it."
She does, at least, have a powerful ally in Prince Charles, who is equally worried about his two sons riding their motorbikes.
He has said in the past: "It's about other cars not being able to see you. I'm always telling my sons that."
The Cambridges, known in Scotland as the Earl and Countess of Strathearn, were regular visitors to Dundee when they were students at St Andrews. Talking to a group of young people from See Me, Scotland's programme to end the stigma around mental health, William said: "It seems to me sad that society does not seem to listen enough; all the suggestions here and all the evidence you're giving us is very much that society doesn't seem to listen. And yet it's the most basic fundamental point of families and communities to listen to each other."
William with a toy motorbike gifted to George at a UK motorcycle show. Photo / AP
Emma Hewitt, 19, said: "It's really good when people in their position are interested and it gives a lot of hope. He's going to be a future king and if he's interested it will definitely help take on the stigma."
William asked another group: "Do you think that social media companies like Facebook and Twitter do enough to prevent bullying?" They all replied, "No."
At a drop-in centre called The Corner, William, who works as a helicopter pilot for East Anglian Air Ambulance, discussed legal highs.
"I don't know why there are legal highs," he said. "We have been called out when people are having fits or cardiac arrests after taking them."
Alain Saum, an addiction youth worker, said people who wouldn't normally do drugs take them because of the word legal.
