Prince George would have "loved" to be in the driving seat of a train, his father Prince William has revealed. The Duke of Cambridge opened up about his son's love of transport during an engagement in Derby on Wednesday.
William was visiting the Bombardier factory which is currently making trains for the new Crossrail service, the Elizabeth Line, when he was asked if he wanted to test his driving skills. The Prince drove at 30 miles per hour on the test track, saying: "George would love it."
Prince William said his son George would have loved to be in the driver's seat
Chris Brittan, 32, a dynamic test track driver at the site, showed the future King the ropes. "I was telling him the functionalities of the train," said Chris. "He was saying that George would love it, he would be excited about seeing his dad driving."
On William's driving skills, Chris added: "He was nice and controlled. We took it up to 30 miles per hour. He was doing all the driving. He said it's easy to drive, it's nice and smooth."
The Prince inspects the new Crossrail train
The Prince was visiting the factory – the only train manufacturer in the UK – to shine a light on its work with Crossrail. The firm managed to outbid foreign companies to win the £1 billion contract to make carriages for the Crossrail route, securing 1,000 jobs in the factory.
William met some of the apprentices who are employed at the factory and also unveiled a plaque to commemorate his visit.
The 34-year-old Prince then visited Rolls Royce, where he met Great British Bake Off finalist Andrew Smyth, an engineer at the car manufacturer. Andrew presented William with a cake he had especially baked that featured a spinning level. The Duke was clearly impressed by Andrew's creation as he said: "That's amazing. You should have won." William was also given two sweet polo shirts for his children George and Charlotte, personalised with their names.
William's final visit of the day took him to the Padley Centre charity, which supports vulnerable people in the community. The charity, which was founded in 1985, helps those suffering a range of issues including mental health problems and drug and alcohol addiction.