Dad dancing, scooters and football fanaticism: Prince William's bid to win royal popularity contest.

Prince William might be the future King of England but until that crown is free, it seems he's cementing himself as the King of Memes.

In a bizarre turn of events, the usually low-key leader of the British upper-crust has been wearing his 'I'm a funny man, I promise' hat.

His 'silly goose' behaviour has sparked memes on three separate occasions over the last month, and the rebrand seems to be working with the public. Even we admit, it's pretty endearing. 

But, is it all sh*ts and giggles, or more giggles to hide a secret pile of sh*t?

Here's what we know.

Prince William's ascension to Meme King.

It all starts with Taylor Swift (as the best things truly do). The future King of England brought his eldest two children, Prince George and Princess Charles to watch the Queen of Pop perform at Wembley Stadium. 

He appeared the doting father, but it turns out that William is the real Swiftie, with footage of him 'dad dancing' enthusiastically to 'Shake It Off' going viral. 

While to-be-Kings are usually sequestered away behind closed doors when they showcase the embarrassing look of unbounded joy, it seems that Prince William is choosing not to continue this tradition.

Stiff upper lip gone, the internet went wild memeing his dance moves. 

I am sorry but prince william dancing to shake it off has me wheeeeeezing pic.twitter.com/hDyLxtJIdt

— nich⸆⸉ (@sohighschooll) June 22, 2024

Prince William has always loved a good dance 🤣#TaylorSwiftErasTourJP #TaylorSwift #LondonTSTheErastour #PrinceWilliam pic.twitter.com/xFqbqdVJnp

— The British Prince II (@freedom_007__) June 22, 2024

Then, Prince William showed the world he is a boot, scootin' baby. 

Ok, baby he is not. But he is indeed scooting. 

The videos of Prince William dancing at The Eras Tour were followed by an, as yet unverified, video of him riding an electric scooter through the grounds of Windsor castle. 

Say what you like about the prince, but he sure isn't a dilly dallier. More like a speed demon.

This naturally spurred further meme moments, mostly about how hilarious it is to need an electric scooter to get around one's own home. 

Comedy gold. 

Prince William using an e-scooter to get around Windsor Castle is iconic pic.twitter.com/N8pubZHQZf

— UB1UB2 West London (Southall) (@UB1UB2) July 6, 2024

sir, you're breaking the internet again https://t.co/nxZyRQ2KWW pic.twitter.com/ST4r27RWF4

— all about prince william (@willyumjpeg) July 5, 2024

He's not stopping there, though. 

He may be a Prince, but he's just a football fanatic after all.

Prince William has rounded off his Meme King trifecta with an appearance at the European Football Championships looking appropriately stressed during a penalty shootout. 

The Prince was seen pumping his fists, madly clapping and clasping his hand to his mouth in anticipation. Essentially, he looked like everyone's dad watching their favourite sport. 

And the people loved it. 

"Prince William was all of us during that penalty shootout," BBC Sport shared in a post on X. 

Prince William was all of us during that penalty shootout 🫣#Euro2024 #ENGSUI pic.twitter.com/VmJTB2bocP

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 6, 2024

HRH William, Prince of Wales attending the England vs Switzerland Euros 2024 quarter-finals and celebrating an England goal 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧 #godsavetheking pic.twitter.com/V6mP948Mn1

— Bertie (@themonarchistGB) July 6, 2024

The footage was so good that a picture of the Prince celebrating was taken and photoshopped into a boozed up football brawl. What could have been if he wasn't a royal, we will never know! 

Closet football hooligan Prince William involved in boozed up brawl with Germany fans at Euro 2024 #football #EURo2024 #EURO2004 pic.twitter.com/GwP5iKjCh8

— Tony Van Der MacSoprano 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇳🇱 (@TMacsoprano) July 8, 2024

Humanising 'The Man'

There's no denying that Prince William has had his share of heart-warming moments over the years. 

Who can ever forget him saying, "Doggies at this time are very important" when talking to the British public gathered to farewell the late Queen? *queue tears*

"Doggies at this time are very important" 🐶🤎 -Prince William

William and Catherine seeing a dog in the crowd when they came to see the flowers laid at Windsor Castle, two days after The late Queen's death, last year 💐🖤 pic.twitter.com/80rvBEzrK4

— Theroyalfamily.wcgcl 👑🇬🇧 (@lovewalesfamily) September 16, 2023

However, three extremely memeable moments in quick succession feels like a statement. He's not a regular King, he's a cool King.

It seems that William is taking a page out of his mother Princess Diana's book, and taking part in the more 'humanising' activities life has to offer. It's sure to help the British public see him as more than just a figurehead of an institution that is increasingly seen as 'stuffy' or 'behind the times'. 

Princess Diana participates in a parent's race at her son's school. pic.twitter.com/VKaLtIP8Sd

— Fascinating (@fasc1nate) February 1, 2024

Could the memes be the art of a 'bait and switch'?

While we will absolutely never be critical of Prince William's more hilarious antics (let's be honest, we love them), it is important to note that he is currently embroiled in some controversy. 

He is set to feature in a new documentary on homelessness in the UK, bringing light to a very widespread issue throughout the country.

Called Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, the documentary will cover the first year of his ambitious Homewards programme on ITV. 

"Everyone we've filmed with has welcomed the spotlight that Prince William and Homewards are placing on the UK's homelessness crisis," said Director Leo Burley. 

However, people online can't help but point out that as far as the wealthy home-owning elite go, Prince William sits on a whole lot of (often empty) properties. In fact, the royal family has as many as 18 key castles, estates and 'cottages', which The Guardian totals to be around 2,000 rooms. 

Some members of the British public feel the whole endeavour is a little contrived in light of this. 

The Dutch royal family is housing 30 Ukrainian refugees in one of its spare palaces. Prince William is starring in a documentary about homelessness.

— David__Osland (@David__Osland) July 8, 2024

Having Prince William leading the charge against Homelessness is like having McDonalds and KFC leading the fight against obesity.

— BladeoftheSun (@BladeoftheS) July 8, 2024

It's important to note that while Prince William certainly could lend his castle rooms out to homeless people, the project itself will use dedicated and ambitious targets to help reduce homelessness now and in the longer term as well.

Long live the 'Meme King'.

Whether or not you are a royalist, or believe in the Prince facing a homelessness project, there's no denying that it's nice to see him 'let his hair down'. 

After a stressful few years for Prince William—a rift with his brother Prince Harry, the Queen's passing and his father and wife's cancer diagnoses—perhaps all he really needs is to Shake It Off. And we'll love to watch him do it.

Feature Image: Getty