Prince William today took a debut ride in a charity vehicle named after him during a visit to Norfolk.
The Prince and Princess of Wales paid for the car, which will carry life and death supplies of blood, plasma, breast milk and medical equipment, privately.
It was named ‘Prince William’ by Norfolk Blood Bikes as the future King posed for pictures alongside emergency responders before letting slip that he still rides motorbikes – in disguise.
Unveiling the donation by peeling off a sticker to reveal the name, ‘Prince William’, he joked: ‘People will be confused and think I’m driving this car!’
The Prince William car now lines up alongside 18 bikes and seven cars, including a Ford Focus called Queen Elizabeth II.
All bikes and cars in the 25-strong fleet have individual names that are often chosen or agreed upon by the specific donor.
Speaking to bikers who ride for Norfolk Blood Bikes, the royal, who used to own an Ducati, also admitted to ‘quietly’ taking to the highways himself.
Seeing the bikes lined up in their livery, William confessed, ‘I love bikes’ and that ‘I do still ride now and again’ in ‘disguise’.
He then jumped in the car and took blood packs from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital to East Anglia Air Ambulance HQ, seven miles away.
Prince William today took a debut ride in a charity vehicle named after him during a visit to Norfolk
The Prince and Princess of Wales paid for the car, which will carry life and death supplies of blood, plasma, breast milk and medical equipment, privately
Speaking to the bikers at the hospital, he said: ‘It’s a crucial part of the community, not many people understand the network. You guys provide such a crucial link to what goes on. You guys are amazing.’
William also spotted some hospital patients peering out open windows and ran over to say hello.
The Prince waved and gave thumbs up and said: ‘Very nice to see you, we’ve chosen a really rubbish day, you’re better off in there.’
It is not known how much the car costs, but a regular Ford Kuga averages around £35,000.
At the air ambulance station, he delivered two packs of blood that can be used in an emergence, signed the paperwork, and declared his ‘mission’ was successful.
Speaking to air ambulance pilots at the base, he hailed the ‘community thread’ that connects the hospitals, bike service and helicopters, saying: ‘It really matters a lot you guys are there to provide the link.’
Norfolk Blood Bikes operate 365 days a year, transporting blood, plasma, platelets, samples, vaccines, and any other urgently required medical items to hospitals in Norfolk.
They also deliver blood to the East Anglian Air Ambulance, where William worked between 2015 and 2017.
At the air ambulance base, William met Lennon Hayes, now 22, who suffered a severe car crash in December 2023 and, with help from East Anglia Air Ambulance and a blood delivery, survived.
The prince told Lennon that seeing people like him ‘coming back’ to show how they have made a full recovery makes people ‘like me’ realise ‘this is why we do it’.
Sandy Gourlay, Chairman of Blood Bikes Charity, said: ‘Having cars on the fleet is important. Not all volunteers are bikers, so cars help attract volunteers who have a driving licence only.
‘It enables us to uplift multiple high-volume orders for subsequent delivery.
Speaking to bikers who ride for Norfolk Blood Bikes, the royal, who used to own an Ducati, also admitted to ‘quietly’ taking to the highways himself
William (not pictured) also met Kay Solomon, Lennon Hayes (centre), and Shaun Hayes at the official event in Norfolk. Lennon Hayes, now 22, who suffered a severe car crash in December 2023 and, with help from East Anglia Air Ambulance and a blood delivery, survived
‘Through winter, when bikes are off the road due to low temperatures and bad weather we have safe available fleet.
‘Having an additional car means we can deploy asset into each operation areas where teamwork. Norfolk is the second largest county in England. Having additional vehicle now means we have a car on every shift we do.
‘And having the support of Prince William as a local and keen biker means a huge amount, and that local connection is important to us.’
Explaining how the vehicles are chosen, Sandy added: ‘Some are named in memory and some, by the team.’
He said that ‘several names were put forward to Kensington Palace and this one was chosen’.
Other names on the shortlist are understood to have included Hercules, which is the name of the Aston Villa mascot, William’s beloved football team.
Earlier in the day, William comforted a man who said his life had been saved by a local mental health group co-funded by the royal and Princess Catherine.
The future king was on his doorstep of Anmer on the King’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, where he and the Princess of Wales have a home, to talk about the work of Norfolk and Waveney Mind.
Chatting with Paul Gannon, 71, at the Anmer Social Club’s Community Hall, which runs a regular Tuesday meeting, William told Paul he appreciated him as ‘the lone man himself being here’.
Paul replied: ‘These guys are amazing, they really are’, before becoming emotional and unable to continue his sentence as he said ‘they have been with me…’
William comforted him by placing his hand on his shoulder and told him: ‘Don’t worry, take your time on it. I’ll talk until you’re ready to say anything.’
With his hands wrapped around a mug of tea, the prince then explained why he and his wife helped to launch the pilot scheme last year, explaining that he had been approached by several people about the worsening isolation rates since the Covid pandemic.
‘This is a bit of a pilot project to understand what the need is, what the challenges are in the rural community, and how do we replicate something in the whole of the UK so that we are not leaving holes in how we look after people. What has been the experience that you have seen from everyone here?’ he asked.
Paul replied: ‘My experience is that Mind has become a sort of family. I am very isolated up here, my family are elsewhere
Umbrella in hand, the Prince of Wales today braved the rain for a visit to a mental health charity in Norfolk
One photo showed William warmly embracing a member of staff at Norfolk and Waveney Mind on June 11, 2026
‘It has been very useful. I have had PTSD issues, which have really come back to haunt me. ‘It’s good to be able to talk, and not just go onto antidepressants but actually to deal with real people, caring people, people you trust.’
William asked what would have happened if he didn’t have the Mind group to turn to, with Paul saying: ‘I think things would have been very different. I was in a very dark place at one time had a very great life, and then it all fell apart…. Dark times and trying to find out again who you are. Mind has helped me re-establish a new career at 71.’
‘Dare I ask what you are doing now?’ William said. Told he was working in business, the prince smiled and said ‘that’s a relief, I’m never quite sure what you are going to say at 71’, prompting the room to erupt in hearty laughter.
Last year, Norfolk and Waveney Mind, a local branch of the national charity, launched a pilot programme cofunded by the Prince and Princess of Wales, aimed at improving the well-being of local people.
It provides proactive outreach and preventative support for the whole community, from 1:1 counselling sessions to parent-and-toddler groups and menopause support groups, and William wants it to become a blueprint for other rural estates across the UK.
Arriving at the Community Hall in the pouring rain in a linen jacket and chinos, the Prince met with those delivering the service to hear more about the pilot’s effectiveness before moving inside to chat with those who attend the groups.
Talking first to a group of women from the menopausal group, William heard how the exercise class offered has improved their wellbeing both physically and mentally.
They told the future King that the best thing is that it takes place on their doorstep, so they do not need to travel to the nearby towns.
Told that they have all become close friends and the classes are filled with laughter, the prince said: ‘That is the important thing, laughter is important too. Laughter is a great source, a benefit.’
William sharing a laugh with community members during today’s visit
Prince William in conversation with 71-year-old Paul Gannon who says his life has been saved by a local mental health group co-funded by the royal and his wife
William comforted Paul as he told the future King about his struggles with PTSD
He looked dapper in a grey Prince of Wales check jacket, crisp, light blue shirt, and navy trousers, with William picking a pair of brown suede boots to finish the outfit
Told that one of the benefits of the younger generation being more open to talking about mental health is that it is now working its way up to the older people in society, William said: ‘Good. The younger generation is encouraging the older generation.’
Paul explained it could be very difficult for men if these types of places did not exist.
Walking through to another room, William spoke to one of the counsellors, Grania Haigh, about her experiences.
‘The need is probably greater than we have seen so far,’ she told him. ‘In individual departments on the estate, when one comes, others follow.’
Before departing, William privately met members of the community who had received one-to-one counselling as part of the programme.
Since its inception, sessions delivered by the pilot programme have been warmly received by the local community, with 2,402 participants so far.
It comes after the father-of-three left royal fans swooning with his ‘refreshed’ style at a technology conference in London yesterday.
Back at work after Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling’s royal wedding over the weekend, William travelled to Olympia for his debut appearance at London Tech Week, where he launched a new chapter of his Homewards project, highlighting how digital tools and innovation can tackle homelessness.
Social media users gushed about his ‘model’ good looks after footage showed William arriving at the conference wearing an impeccably tailored navy suit, with one fan writing he ‘looks like he is modelling it, rather than heading to work’.
He later hailed the power of tech to enable those working in the sector to identify families and individuals at risk during a panel discussion, adding ‘prevention is better than the cure’ in the fight against homelessness.
His Homewards initiative – a five-year project to develop a blueprint to eradicate homelessness – has launched the Homelessness Data Lab, a national collaboration aimed at improving the use of data and technology to prevent homelessness.
Members include businesses like Bloomberg, Vodafone Three and the NatWest Group, who are working on projects to enhance coordination between frontline services, reduce response times and improve signposting support for people experiencing the early stages of difficulties.
‘The damage that someone goes through to get to that place is inevitable, sometimes almost very, very difficult to bring them back in, so if we can stop all that pain, that damage getting done, and that surely is a much better way of doing that.’
William launched his Homewards programme, which aims to develop a blueprint for eradicating homelessness in all its forms, ‘making it rare, brief and unrepeated’, in 2023.
Six locations were chosen – Newport in south Wales, Lambeth in south London, Northern Ireland, Aberdeen, Sheffield, and the three neighbouring Dorset towns of Poole, Bournemouth, and Christchurch – to deliver ‘bespoke’ solutions to homelessness issues in each area.
Initiatives vary from supporting at-risk groups to ensure they do not become homeless in the first place, to freeing up housing through unique public/private partnerships.
The prince is also building low-cost rental on his own Duchy of Cornwall land.
