Prince William’s tongue-in-cheek Radio 1 prank revealed by DJ Adele Roberts
Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts has revealed how Prince William was a regular listener to her breakfast show, even texting in under false names asking for a mention on-air

(Mark Allan)
Prince William used to text in to Radio 1 asking for a shout-out under a pseudonym, a show host has revealed.

DJ Adele Roberts let slip that the future king would use a fake name, messaging in to her Early Breakfast Show which she used to present. The 45-year-old presenter has told how she met both William and Princess Kate when they came in for a special visit back in 2017.

But after their appearance on the air – in which they came for a morale boost ahead of Adele running the London marathon – she claims the royal began texting her, and would sometimes even make cheeky requests for on the air. The 45-year-old told The Observer magazine William, 41, “used to text me”.

William and Kate surprised Adele on air back in 2017, which led to Wills’ later texts to the DJ asking for a shoutout on air
“Will and Kate came to Radio 1 to wish me luck before I ran the London marathon,” she said. “He told me he used to listen to me on the early breakfast show, and would sometimes message in with a fake name asking for a shout-out.”

His April 2017 visit saw the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge read out Britain’s chart countdown with Scott Mills as they surprised Adele. The DJ ran the marathon for the royal’s initiative Heads Together, focused on mental wellbeing in young people.

Adele hosted Radio 1’s Early Breakfast Show from 2015 to 2021 before going on to the Weekend Breakfast Show. The revelation isn’t the first glimpse of William’s alter-ego shout outs or even having a go at DJing himself.

Kate’s uncle Gary Goldsmith revealed a friend of his once taught the prince how to spin the decks back in 2006, when he and Kate visited him at his Ibiza annex, Maison de Bang Bang. William, it was claimed, would have his own shout out with a clue to his royal status.

Gary, 59, claimed: “He (the DJ) encouraged him (Prince William) to do a shoutout and so he came up with ‘The king is in da house!’ A bit previous, but it was hilarious.”