Prince William was not the nicest or most well-behaved child. At least, that's what author Tina Brown writes in her book, The Palace Papers, released on April 26, 2022.
In it, she even says his own mother, Princess Diana, called him a "holy terror."
She even writes that grandmother Queen Elizabeth was concerned about his behavior, too. She apparently complained to her husband, Prince Philip, that William was completely "out of control."
The Queen did not like some of Prince William's habits as a young boy, including how he would talk about becoming king. “She was not amused that he loved to say, ‘When I am king, I’m going to make a new rule that,’” Brown writes.
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The author also claims that Diana was concerned, as well. She writes that when Princes Charles and Diana returned from a royal tour of Canada in 1983, Diana said William was becoming "a holy terror — dashing about bumping into tables and lamps, breaking everything in sight."
Most notably, the author writes that William was terrible to his nanny: “By the time he was four, he had the unattractive habit of yapping at his nanny, Barbara Barnes, ‘No one tells me what to do! When I am king I will have you punished.’"
Apparently, the nanny wasn't the only one subjected to young William's reign of terror. The Highgrove guards weren't a fan of his antics, either. The prince enjoyed shooting them with a water gun. Even at his preschool he earned a nickname because of his wild behavior. They called him “Basher Wills.”
William's behavior became even more concerning as he grew out of toddlerhood. He even smeared sheep poop on his father's suit. “Look at me!” Charles reacted. “I am absolutely covered in sheep s***!”
Eventually, William grew out of his wild ways. He grew close to his mother, whom the author writes considered him her "most trusted confidant."
It was then that Diana would call him "my little wise old man."
