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Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Lifestyle
Kristin Contino

Prince William Had a Heartbreaking Reason for Choosing His Childhood Dream Job

Princess Diana wearing a red cardigan over a white button up shirt sitting at a table playing a puzzle with a toddler Prince William.

Many little boys dream of becoming superheroes, race car drivers, or maybe even astronauts—but young Prince William had an entirely different career plan up his sleeve. Even though William knew he'd one day become the King, he cooked up a touching scheme to try and help his mother, Princess Diana instead.

According to royal biographer Andrew Morton (per the Mirror), the future Prince of Wales and his brother, Prince Harry, "were aware of their destiny."

Although the author didn't share how old William and Harry were at the time, he wrote that "the boys were discussing their futures with Diana" when William declared, "'When I grow up I want to be a policeman and look after you Mummy.'"

Little brother Harry, however, pointed out the impossibility of William's sweet plan. "Quick as a flash Harry replied, with a note of triumph in his voice, 'Oh no you can't, you've got to be king'," Morton added.

Princess Diana is seen leading Prince William on his pony at Highgrove House in 1986. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Even though he was a child, Prince William was likely well aware of the press intrusion that surrounded his family, especially Princess Diana, who died after being chased by paparazzi in 1997.

And although his dream job didn't pan out, it seems that the police idea carries on with Prince George, although thankfully, for a different reason.

The Prince of Wales once shared that his eldest son was "obsessed" with the police during a royal engagement. When a police commissioner joked, "We are recruiting, actually, so if George and Charlotte are keen?" Prince William revealed that his son was "obsessed, actually, by the police... cars, toys, everything."

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