Prince William shows his competitive side during game that will make Prince George jealous

Prince William wasted no time getting his game on as he joined an Esports tournament on the second day of his Saudi Arabia tour – and it will likely have made his son, Prince George, very jealous back at home in the UK.

The Prince of Wales, 41, enjoyed a game of Rocket League against his host, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, the Saudi Esports Federation’s Chairman, at the specially built S.E.F arena at Boulevard City on Tuesday.

But it appeared he could have benefitted from some helpful tips from his son, as William lost his matches and admitted he had “no idea what I’m doing”. Despite much enthusiasm and clearly getting quite competitive, William failed to score in both games, with the Saudi side winning 3-2, then 2-1.

Luckily, his teammates still appreciated his efforts, with Abdullah, 24, saying afterwards: “He was very good. He shook my hands afterwards and said ‘very nice to play with you’. I am very proud.” On the winning team, Ahmad Abdullah, 23, said: “It was very fun to play with both princes. It wasn’t easy actually, Prince William was a good opponent and it was very close. It was my pleasure to play with them and meet Prince William.”

The game sees players hitting an oversized football towards a goal but in cars, rather than on foot, and has more than seven million players worldwide. During the tournament, the future King learned about Saudi’s gaming ecosystem and met players from some of Saudi’s most popular professional teams, Team Falcons and Twisted Minds.

Prince George’s favourite hobby

In 2022, William revealed that Prince George is a huge fan of video games and said it’s something he is “fascinated by”. At the time William, then the Duke of Cambridge, was visiting BAFTA’s newly re-developed headquarters in London, meeting youngsters hoping to build a career in gaming, film and television.  

© WireImage

William said: “At the moment it’s trying to regulate the gaming… monitoring screen time. Got to be careful of that. They’re fascinated by it. George particularly. He’s more interested in it. The other two are a bit too small at the moment but they love the films. I adore film and gaming as well.”

However, William and his wife Kate usually have strict rules around screentime for their children, and have chosen to keep George, 12, Princess Charlotte, ten, and Prince Louis, seven, phone-free. While filming an episode of Apple TV’s The Reluctant Traveler in February 2025, Prince William revealed to Emmy winner Eugene Levy that none of his kids “have any phones,” adding that he and Catherine are “very strict about” that.

Last year, the Princess of Wales penned an essay titled The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World, a collaboration with Professor Robert Waldinger, writing about the “complex and often troubling” role that technology plays. 

William’s trip to Saudi Arabia

The Prince is currently midway through a three-day royal tour to Saudi Arabia after touching down in the country on Monday. He landed at King Khalid International Airport, where he was met at the Royal Terminal by Riyadh’s deputy governor, Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz, and walked a 150m purple carpet that had been rolled out for the occasion.

© Andrew Parsons / Kensington Pala

It came just hours after Kensington Palace released a statement saying the Prince and Princess of Wales are “deeply concerned” about the recent allegations in the so-called “Epstein files”, released last week. 

In a statement ahead of Prince William’s visit, a spokesman told travelling media: “I can confirm The Prince and Princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations. Their thoughts remain focused on the victims.”

On Tuesday, while joining a kickabout with young female footballers, William was questioned about the Epstein scandal, and was asked by a journalist: “Sir, to what extent do you think the royal family has done enough around the Andrew and Epstein scandal?”