The Prince of Wales has shared a glimpse inside his family life with his wife Princess Kate and their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
During a visit to Woodgate Valley Urban Farm in Birmingham on Thursday, the royal father-of-three, 41, revealed that his family have pet guinea pigs at home.
© Getty ImagesHe made the sweet revelation whilst he was grooming a guinea pig with a child who uses the facility. "These guys are pretty cool," he said. "We've got guinea pigs at home and they're not like this.
"I spend my life cleaning out the guinea pig cage because the children forget to do it." He added: "The ones we've got at home, they're off. You have to keep them constantly stroked and looked after."
© Getty ImagesDuring his visit, William toured the farm and met with various staff and volunteers. Woodgate Valley Urban farm is a city farm dedicated to supporting children and young people struggling to access education and those experiencing mental health challenges.
The six-acre community farm runs a plethora of therapeutic programmes for children. Participants are provided one-to-one support whilst on-site, and results have shown that children regularly visiting the farm see a marked improvement in their mental health and wellbeing.
Funded by the National Lottery, the farm supports small groups currently out of education as well as sibling groups from a local children's hospice.
© Getty ImagesPrince William's sweet revelation comes after he paid a special visit to St Michael's Church of England High School in Rowley Regis after he was initially invited by 12-year-old schoolboy, Freddie Hadley, who posted a letter on X last October.
The future king joined Freddie and fellow male pupils aged 11 to 14, who are members of the school's Matrix Project, which was set up to shine a spotlight on male mental health.
© Getty ImagesThe group launched the #AmIManlyEnough campaign last year to tackle the stigma around male mental health and encourage men and boys to communicate more about their feelings.
William opened up about his inspiration around his work on mental health, telling the students: "It started really when I was doing lots of charitable work, I never set out to look out into mental health, particularly male mental health.
© Getty Images"I was interested in homelessness, depression, addiction, all these separate areas and I hadn't really put them altogether as a jigsaw - what are we looking at? What are we trying to fix? It all came together as a mental health piece.
"My passion, if you like, has moved now into male mental health because of the stats you [James] mentioned at the beginning, about the suicide rate in young men is just terrifying, and I wanted to do something about it."
What other pets do William and Kate have?
Like many of the British royals, the Prince and Princess of Wales are proud dog owners. They previously owned an English Cocker Spaniel named Lupo, who would accompany them to events such as the polo and even featured in Prince George's baby photos and a portrait taken on his third birthday.
© GettySadly Lupo passed away at the age of nine in November 2020, with a heartbroken William and Kate announcing the news on social media.
Sharing a picture of their beloved pooch, they wrote: "Very sadly last weekend our dear dog, Lupo, passed away. He has been at the heart of our family for the past nine years and we will miss him so much. - W & C."
In late 2020, Kate's brother James gifted the family another spaniel from his litter of puppies. The pup's name remained a mystery until May 2022 when she featured in an official photograph to celebrate Princess Charlotte's seventh birthday.
The Princess also brought Orla along to watch Prince William play in a charity polo match in July 2022.
© GettyThe family also acquired chickens during the COVID-19 lockdown and Kate has previously spoken about owning a pet hamster called Marvin during a visit to Hampton Court Palace in 2016.
