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Prince William TikTok Video Goes Viral—and I Can't Stop Thinking About His Ultimate Millennial Mistake

Honestly kind of adorable

prince william tiktok millennial mistake uni
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Royals in selfies? When Queen Elizabeth was on the throne, the idea was completely unimaginable. Pandering to a TikTok video? Even less so. But, as Prince William and Princess Catherine have recently shown, they're not fussy about breaking royal protocol when it comes to selfies. A freshly viral TikTok posted November 15 shows that the Prince of Wales was again happy to oblige an eager fan—this time, with a video. But what really stood out to me in the 15-second clip was his adorable Millennial mistake.

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The video shows Ulster University student Samantha Johnson panning her phone camera to the Prince of Wales, who was visiting the school as part of a surprise visit to the country for charity work.

"Just tell her why we're late," Johnson requests. After confirming the professor's name, Prince William gives a brief greeting. But before that, he does the *most* Millennial thing possible.

"Are you recording?" He asks, gesturing to the screen. It's basically a Millennial's version of "Is this thing on?"

He then continues: "Lesley, I'm very sorry we're late, but they seem to be caught up, and they wouldn't believe that you were here. Just to say hi." The students then fall into giggles as the video ends.

prince william tiktok millennial mistake
Pool/Pool/Getty Images

Prince William isn't the only Millennial to make the gaf—which isn't really a gaf at all, and more so just a mannerism that starkly demarcates Gen Z and Millennials, the latter of which are known for little quirks like pausing at the start of the video to ensure it's rolling (Taylor Swift is notorious for this generational tell).

That's all to say, Prince William giving away his Millennial status only earned him compliments.

"Interactions with royals are getting more and more unserious and I love that for them," commented one viewer.

"Makes them seem more real," Johnson replied.

"He is an icon," another wrote.

But aside from his brilliant TikTok debut, the Prince of Wales also took time to chat with the students, which left an even larger impression.

"He really took a genuine interest in all of our interests and future plans. Honestly, gave the most positive vibes and seems like such a sweet, kind-hearted individual. Even took time to tell us about his plans to help the homeless to spread awareness," Johnson told People. "[Prince William was] one of the nicest people I've met, genuinely takes care in trying to get to know you...Didn't expect him to be so sound...He's literally adorable." Talk about a rave review.

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This all took place because Prince William made an unannounced visit to Northern Ireland, where he had plans to meet with his team running Homewards. Through The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince William launched the five-year initiative to raise awareness about and create action plans to address homelessness. Afterwards, he visited the university to learn about Northern Ireland's efforts to establish itself as a creative and technological innovation hub.

Now, if only I could get a royal pardon every time I was running late.


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Freelance PureWow Editor