Prince William transforms into a scientist during secret visit – ‘We’re hiring’

The Prince of Wales was greeted with applause on a trip to the Francis Crick Institute in central London on Wednesday.

The heir to the throne, who was visiting the pioneering biomedical research centre to spotlight British innovation, drew hundreds of scientists out of their labs, despite his visit being kept a secret.

They gathered on walkways throughout the huge open-plan building and clapped William as he made his way to meet a group of researchers studying how the brain works.

Neuroscientists Andreas Schaefer and Katharina Schmack talked the royal visitor through their studies on how “the neural neurons compute” and how scientists are developing ways to help restore speech in patients, which William said was “incredible.”

Meaning behind the research

“Presumably you can understand emotional regulation?” the Prince asked. “Does that help us understand mental health? That wasn’t a deliberate segue, I’m trying to think of some good questions to ask!”

Katharina asked him to “imagine a young man in his 20s, about to graduate, thinking about proposing to his girlfriend, but then something shifts. He can’t sleep, he becomes restless, and he hears voices which say really bad things about him. That is what psychosis looks like.”

Told that the condition can affect one in 100 people, William looked shocked and replied: “Wow.” He was told psychosis typically sets in early, “when life is just unfolding,” and is difficult to resolve.

“We really need treatments and to get better treatments,” she said. “We need to understand what is happening in the brain.”

Transformed royal

In the basement of the building, the Prince donned a white lab coat and was shown the electromicroscopy department, where a team of 16 scientists prepares and studies samples of human and animal tissue.

William was asked to handle a minute slice of a mouse’s kidney, using an eyelash attached to a fine stick with nail varnish.

Eyelashes are used because they are soft and flexible enough to move the tiny samples around without damaging them.

Samples are fixed with chemicals to kill off any infection and then set in plastic so they can be finely sliced using diamond blades.

As the process was explained to him, the Prince said he would “dust my A-level biology off.”

New career for William?

He then sat at one of the powerful Electronic microtomes (correct) to try to manoeuvre the microscopic slices into place, using the eyelash.

“I hope this is not part of a serious research project,” he said and was told there was a replica sample. As he painstakingly tried to move the minute slices through water, he said: “It’s a bit like a dam breaking.”

Edith Heard, The Crick Institute’s CEO, told him he was “doing a great job,” and added: “We’re hiring.” Dumi Lumkwana, senior research scientist, later praised the Prince’s efforts. “He did quite alright, surprisingly,” she explained.

“It takes years, basically, for the skill to develop. And even when you have developed the skill, there could be a lot of things that go wrong, temperatures, the water level you having too much coffee and shaking. So in that case, he did quite well to move the sections.”

She said of the royal visit: “It was very exciting. I heard that he’s also into antimicrobial resistance, which I didn’t think is something that he would be interested in. So, yes, it’s very exciting. And anyone who is interested in research, I love that. I really enjoyed having him around and coming to see what we do.

“After a couple of trainings, maybe, when I train him, I’m sure there will be some opening for him,” she joked.

Star student

In the next lab, the Prince heard how scientists Max Gutierrez and Tony Fearns were studying samples of tuberculosis-infected cells to help find new antibiotic treatments – an issue William has long been interested in.

He became patron of the appeal to create The Fleming Centre, a major new research hub dedicated to tackling antimicrobial resistance, in 2023.

Looking at one of the samples through the powerful microscope, he said, “It looks like the surface of the moon.”

William then joined a group of A-level biology students from nearby William Ellis School in Camden, who were taking part in a genetic engineering workshop and had been told about the royal visitor only moments before he arrived.

He put on gloves and lab glasses and used a pipette to transfer substances between containers under direction from the pupils.

“Actually coming here and doing the practical work must be exciting?” he asked them.

Before leaving, William was shown photographs of his grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, on a 2017 visit to the Crick and added his signature to the visitors’ book.

Sir Paul Nurse, honorary life president and principal group leader of the Crick, said: “Oh you’re left-handed like me, so you have the same problem. I write vertically.

“We’re both pilots too,” he added, explaining that he flies gliders and vintage aircraft. William told Sir Paul he flies helicopters and used to fly fixed-wing aircraft.

He was presented with a paperweight as a gift for himself and three paper goodie bags for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, each containing a mini microscope, notebook and a badge saying “Hello Brain.”