Prince William admits surprise at King Charles decision as he’s mobbed on return to duty

Prince William visited a youth club in South London in his first public engagement since the Easter break where he was asked about a recent move by his father King Charles

Prince William on a visit to Mentivity Community Centre in South London today (Image: PA)

Prince William admitted he was ‘surprised’ there was not more classical music on his father’s Apple Music playlist as he visited a south London youth club on Thursday. The Prince of Wales was greeted with huge bear hugs and demands for endless selfies during a visit to Mentivity House on the Aylesbury Estate near Elephant and Castle, 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, made by director Adeyemi Michael in partnership with Spotify. Asked what he thought of the 17-strong playlist released by the King recently for Apple Music Radio, he laughed and said: “I was expecting a lot of classical music so I was surprised.”

William plays Mario Kart with a group of youngsters (Image: Getty Images)

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 metres from the community centre 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.”

William chats to Arsenal star Reiss Nelson(Image: Getty Images)

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 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 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 as his team was losing 2-0.

William is mobbed as he poses for selfies (Image: PA)

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.”

Arsenal football player Reiss Nelson, 25, who is currently on loan to Fulham, is a long time supporter of the organisation, having known Mr Holmes-Lewis since he was eight.

The Prince asked some of the children how often they visited 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.”

William hugs one enthusiastic fan who accosted him in the street (Image: PA)

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 roundtable discussion hosted by Tim Campbell, a former winner and current advisor on The Apprentice. “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.