Prince William reveals he once wanted to be a DJ — and went by 'DJ Xara'

Prince William once had a DJ name. It was 'DJ Xara' — with an X — and by his own admission, it never really took off. 'I wasn't very good,' he told Graham Norton on Friday, to audience laughter.

The Prince of Wales, 44, made a surprise first appearance on The Graham Norton Show on October 23rd, joining the BBC chat show's sofa for a special edition dedicated to his Earthshot Prize environmental awards. When Norton asked what career he might have pursued outside the monarchy, William offered two answers: police officer and DJ.

I did want to be a policeman when I was younger, I thought I could make a good one. And then I went through a phase of wanting to be a DJ — I wasn't very good.— Prince William, Prince of Wales

He added that he thought becoming a police officer 'would be quite cool,' according to HuffPost. Speaking to Norton about his DJ aspirations, William said he had settled on the name 'DJ Xara,' spelled with an X. When Norton asked if he had ever spun tracks at school parties, William smiled and admitted he 'never got that good.'

The appearance was William's first on the programme and came two days after he welcomed the Sultan of Oman, Haitham Bin Tariq, on a state visit to the UK, according to jang.com.pk. Joining William on the show were Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett, wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin, and actor Hannah Waddingham, each of them a supporter of the Earthshot Prize.

The Earthshot Prize, which William launched in 2020, identifies and supports solutions to pressing environmental challenges. On the show, he said that years of exposure to environmental problems had left a deep impression on him because of the negativity that surrounded the subject.

I thought we could do something more powerful and more optimistic, and the idea of an awards ceremony came about. It's all about getting excited.— Prince William, Prince of Wales

Blanchett called the initiative "a 'tapestry of solutions,'" while Irwin spoke to its power to motivate younger generations, according to heart.co.uk.

William also spoke about his film tastes, singling out director Christopher Nolan as a particular favourite.

His films are fantastic. The Dark Knight series is psychologically dark and deep, and I absolutely love that. He takes concepts that are completely out there and makes them incredibly entertaining.— Prince William, Prince of Wales

He also gave a glimpse into family life at home, revealing that his children Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are devoted fans of The Celebrity Traitors. 'I love it, the family love it,' he said. Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, he added, are 'obsessed with it,' calling it 'really good telly,' according to jang.com.pk.

Before taking on full-time royal duties, William served as a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue pilot and later spent two years as an air ambulance helicopter pilot. To mark his final shift with the East Anglian Air Ambulance in 2017, he put his feelings in a letter, writing: 'I have been invited into people's homes to share moments of extreme emotion, from relief that we have given someone a fighting chance, to profound grief,' according to HuffPost.

The appearance had an informal quality — at one point William joined Norton in deciding which guests deserved to be tipped from the show's Big Red Chair — and painted a notably relaxed picture of the future King, a figure whose public work has come to focus more and more on environmental causes.

Why it matters — The appearance offers one of the most candid public glimpses yet of William's personality and the personal thinking behind his flagship environmental initiative, as he prepares for an eventual role as King.

Reported by instyle.com, people.com, heart.co.uk, huffpost.com, jang.com.pk, thenews.com.pk