Royal Staff Were "Frantic" Due to Prince William's Actions

As the father of three young kids, Prince William likely his hands full right now. But when the Prince of Wales was a child himself, he apparently caused some drama for his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

In a new article in the Daily Mail, Princess Margaret‘s former lady-in-waiting, Anne Glenconner, recalled one incident involving Prince William when he was a young boy.

According to Glenconner, she accompanied the Royal Family to Balmoral Castle in Scotland in August 1990 for a shooting weekend.

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“It was a very relaxed, family weekend and everything was going smoothly until I was waiting for Princess Margaret in the castle later in the afternoon and heard raised voices coming from outside,” Glenconner wrote in an excerpt from her latest book.

Prince William riding a horse on the Sandringham estate in 1990

Prince William riding a horse on the Sandringham estate in January 1990.

(Image credit: Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images))

Glenconner continued, “I peered out of the window and saw The Queen tearing a strip off Prince William who was on his pony on the drive. He must have been around [8 years old].”

The lady-in-waiting explained, “I crept back from the window not wanting to be spotted and reported back to Princess Margaret what I’d seen. She said, ‘Oh, I wonder what’s happened. I’ll ask The Queen.'”

It later transpired that “Prince William had been out riding with the groom and his cousins and had…returned to the castle on his own without letting anyone know,” Glenconner explained. “The grooms had been frantic looking for him.”

Understandably, William’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, had been incredibly worried about the young prince.

Prince William riding a horse on the Sandringham estate in 1990

King Charles, Prince William, and Prince Harry riding horses in December 1990.

(Image credit: Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images))

“You can imagine how terrified they were in case he had fallen and hit his head with no one knowing where he was,” Glenconner wrote. “Princess Margaret said, ‘The Queen was quite right to give him a rocket.'”