Prince William Surprisingly Skipped the Paris Olympics—and We Finally Know the (Understandable) Reason Why

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly two months since the 2024 Paris Olympic Games had everyone buzzing. Royal fans were on high alert, waiting to see if their favorite royals would show up. While some made it to the City of Lights for the big event, Prince William and Kate Middleton were MIA—and now we know why.

During a recent visit to England’s Birtley Community Pool, Prince William, 42, sat down with British Olympians Adam Peaty and Tom Dean, as well as Paralympians Maisie Summer-Newton and Louise Fiddes, and opened up about missing the Olympics and explained his decision.

"I was so keen to come but I have to say after reading someone's interview about Covid [looking at Adam Peaty—who tested positive during the games] I decided, because my wife was obviously having chemo, that I didn't want to risk bringing Covid home," Prince William revealed, according to Hello!.

"So Adam very kindly reminded me that that was still a thing. But we watched the whole thing," he continued. "We were glued to it every day."

The Prince of Wales also shared some sweet family moments, revealing how much he and Kate love swimming, and how their oldest son, Prince George, 11, is a total water baby.

“Catherine and I both adore swimming,” he added, according to the outlet. “George loves scuba diving. He was ten years old; we took him under, thinking he’d freak out, but he absolutely loved it. It's just introduced him to the world of water.”