The British royal family may have a reputation for being rather stuffy, but times they are a changin'. First Prince William chooses a wife who dares to wear the same outfit twice. Now the future king of England has been caught taking selfies!
Well, one selfie anyway! The Duke of Cambridge broke away from wife Kate Middleton and son George for a bit to snap a photo with a 12-year-old fan!
Does this put the future king in the running for sweetest world leader ever? Or sweetest royal, at the very least?
Apparently the tween fan, Madison Lambe, had queued up with other Brits at the Queen's Sandringham Estate on Christmas. She was eager to get a glimpse of Prince William, Kate Middleton, and the rest of the royal family on the holiday. What she didn't expect was for the future king to stop and talk to her, nor for him to actually agree to be in a photo! Wills reportedly told the girl, "You can't beat a good selfie on Christmas Day," and when she was too nervous to work her phone's camera, the Duke actually took it himself!
Ah, he is very much Princess Diana's son, isn't he?
While his grandmother takes a very traditional approach to being the monarch, Prince William really seems to work hard at being more of a man of the people. Only I don't get the sense that he's acting. He really seems to relate to everyday folks and WANT to interact with them. Surely the way his mom raised him -- taking Wills and Harry to see Santa at the department store, bringing them along to shelters, and making sure her boys got "pocket money" so they'd know the value of real money -- played a role here.
In the long run, a monarch who likes to have a little fun and is OK with being one of the people can only be good for the royal family as a whole. Their power as politicians is so little that their real strength lies in the affection of their people.
The more Wills -- and Kate -- do to engender good will, the better it is for the future of their reign. And hey, who can resist any celebrity who will do something silly to make a 12-year-old girl happy on a holiday?
What do you think of Prince William's selfie? Is this what you want to see from a royal?
Image via Splash News