Prince William may have a future on the throne, but there was a time when he imagined himself behind the decks, and he even had a stage name ready.

The Prince of Wales revealed his childhood ambition during a surprise appearance on The Graham Norton Show on Friday, October 23, joining Cate Blanchett, Robert Irwin and Hannah Waddingham for an Earthshot Prize special.

Asked what he might have become had he not been born into the royal family, William admitted that his first choice involved a different kind of public service.

"I did want to be a policeman when I was younger, I did think I would be a good policeman," he said.

"And then I went through a phase where I wanted to be a DJ, which didn't go very well, and I came up with a name, I was called DJ Xara with an X, it wasn't good."

His musical ambitions may not have progressed, but William revealed that one gentleman had expected a performance from him during a visit to Somerset.

"I went to a place in Somerset and was looking around some of the local communities there, and one lovely gentleman looked up at me from his seat and said, 'When are you going to sing?'."

Initially puzzled, William asked what he meant. "He goes, 'When are you going to sing your performance?', and the lady behind tapped his arm and went, 'No, no, he's not that prince'."

The explanation soon became clear: "It turned out he wanted me to sing Purple Rain, which I don't know the lyrics for."

William also revisited another memorable musical encounter: meeting Taylor Swift with Prince George and Princess Charlotte at Wembley Stadium during her Eras Tour in June 2024.

Discussing their photograph with Taylor and Travis Kelce, William joked: "I hadn't appreciated the significance, and actually, I was trying to move him out of the photo, and he just kept coming back in."

"I kept trying to move him out, so it was just me, Taylor and the children."

The conversation also offered a glimpse of family viewing habits, with William revealing that The Celebrity Traitors had become a favorite.

"I love it, the family love it. Charlotte and Louis are obsessed with it. It's really good telly."

He even tried to persuade contestant Ross Kemp to reveal the winner, without success.

The lighthearted conversation came ahead of November's Earthshot Prize celebrations in Mumbai, where the environmental initiative will recognize solutions to some of the planet's biggest challenges. 

But William had been conducting a little experiment of his own after watching the famously suspicious Traitors contestant.

"I saw Ross Kemp the day after the first episode and I couldn't help but try – in the most appropriate way – to touch him to see what reaction I got from him. Turns out he was actually very jumpy!"