He came on an electric bike, opened up about film preferences, spoke about the need to adapt to change and then, ended the chinwag with a pint of cider, sitting in a pub!
How can one not like a chap who does all the above and without the slightest bit of pretence!
Prince William, in his latest discussion with the actor Eugene Levy, shed the typical contrived responses and expressions to be a young bloke with an apparent penchant for liberal ideas. For too long, royalty has been all about elaborate rituals, choreographed lines and suppressed emotions!
People going to meet royalty were diligently tutored lines they were supposed to utterwhile the trepidation experienced in the presence of royalty has been reinforced through countless film sequences.
Naturally, when someone is brought up with the notion that there is a class of people who are different from the rest and have special customs and social authority, a face to face encounter inevitably triggers a sense of nervousness.
Add to this the long deliberate detachment of aristocrats from the general people. Royal mystique is what it's called - the concerted attempt to keep a certain class behind a curtain of mystery and fantasy.
Well, it worked! For quite some time!
In the current climate, where social cohesion means inclusion of all sections, truepluralism involves people from all strata of society. And of course, Downton Abbey, the aristocratic lifestyle based soap opera, which is also coming as a movie soon, is about to show the evolution of the upper class that blends with the rest of community. That may mean shooting darts with the mates in a pub instead of firing clay birds on the sprawling estate.
Actually, why not do both? Maybe that's the sort of change Prince William is talking about! Blending custom with the cool!
He reportedly said that if he becomes king, there will be changes. Well, if there isn't any unfortunate event, and we hope there won't be, he is in line, and,if he still manages to hop into a pub for a pint with a few buddies, William will set the template for a new kind of king. As a king, there are some other things, which he may also want to do.
More vocal on human rights: Obviously, the recent actions of William went down well with the media and the public but once a king, he may want to be more vocal about human rights violations and civil liberties. In the future, the world will need leaders who are tirelesschampionsofsocial values and justice.
The need for such people intensify as rights are under threat across the globe with societies torn apart by prejudice and discrimination. More voices are needed in support of people with disabilities and that is where a king's role will become vital. Prince William's mother Princess Diana was an avid activist for the removal of land mines.
One of her enduring images is from her 1997 Angola trip during which she walked through a land area cleared of mines. Her walk was crucial in influencing the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty.
For many, Princess Diana conjures up an image of glamour and beauty but she also triggers images related to motherhood, compassion and empathy. Prince William appears to have taken inspiration from his mother, which will certainly lead him to be instrumental in bringing about significant social change,impacting lives of millions.
William's concern plus condemnation about the rising death toll plus the killing of aid workers in Gaza sets the paradigm for a royal who is speaking out.
At the launching of the first memorial for aid workers recently, the prince reportedly, observed: "rather than running away from danger, discomfort and hunger, these incredibly brave men and women stay behind to bring whatever respite, compassion and care they can to those who need it the most.We must champion and fight for their access to people in the most desperate of circumstances."
Undoubtedly, words that matter although many feel, in the future, the denunciation of human rights violations would have to be more vociferous.
It's refreshing to see Prince William, slowly but assuredly becoming an individual with a clear moral stance, said Mostafa Kamal, a retired civil servant, who once worked in Britain and has dual citizenship.
Instead of living behind a cloak and delivering platitudes, the British royalty needs to play their roles as guardians of the just and not merely be the defenders of the expedient, he added.
The 'King' of the masses: Although Britain has a large group of anti-monarchists or republicans who look at the royal institution as an anachronism, the truth remains, much of Britain's cachet is about the royalty.
Millions of tourists come to London not just because it's the capital, which can pull hedonists, epicures, intellectuals, thinkers, oligarchs and radicals, but because the city houses the Buckingham Palace the Tower of London, Apsley House and a long list of historical structures with fascinating royal history.
That royal appeal plus the royal warrant on a list of consumer goods form an integral part of Great Britain's attraction. But as times change, the privileged institution also evolves to become more accessible and, as many have said, 'human'.
By being flawed humans and not trying to hide under a carefully staged façade is one major step while the other is to come out and enjoy life with the rest.
To sum up in the immortal words of Rudyard Kipling: If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch…
The writer is a former journalist!
