Calling all royal fans who happen to also be power walkers: Prince William recently made his debut on Apple’s Fitness+ podcast called Time to Walk, sharing a series of anecdotes about his childhood, work as an air ambulance pilot and more. But there was one story in particular that made our ears perk up.
It came when William chose to spill about a particular tune his mother Princess Diana used to blast in the car to help him and his brother Prince Harry avert anxiety en route to school at a young age.
He shared: “When I was younger, Harry and I were in boarding school and my mother used to play all sorts of songs to...while away the anxiety of going back to school,” he said. “One of the songs I massively remember that’s stuck with me all this time and still to this day quite enjoy, secretly, is Tina Turner’s ‘The Best’ because sitting in the back seat, singing away, it felt like a real family moment.”
William continued: “My mother, she’d be driving along singing at the top of her voice. We’d even get the policeman in the car. He’d be occasionally singing along as well...right all the way out to the gates of school when they dropped you off and that’s when reality kind of sunk in; you were really going back to school...When I listen to it now, it takes me back to those car rides and brings back a lot of memories of my mother.”
Our reaction? Two words: Spencer flashbacks.
For anyone who hasn’t seen the film, please note there are *spoilers ahead.*
On the latest episode of the Royally Obsessed podcast, my co-host Roberta Fiorito and I are joined by Elizabeth Holmes, royal Instagrammer and author of HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style. All three of us had the same take on William’s reveal.
“They had to know that the visual of Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in the car in the opening of Spencer—and then later on in Spencer—would be on everyone’s minds,” Holmes says. (For reference, those scenes are visible at the 0:16-second and 2:03-minute mark in the trailer.)
She adds: “Of course, we don’t know when Apple recorded this episode with William, but the driving scene in particular was part of the preview and the promo for Spencer, so we’ve known about it since before the film was out. To me, it very much felt like, OK, we’re going to reframe that. We’re going to reclaim a little bit of that moment for my own family.”
Fiorito chimed in to say it almost feels like William is subtly clarifying: “It’s not ‘All I Need Is a Miracle,’”—a reference to the final tune Diana blasts in the car as the film concludes—“It’s Tina Turner’s ‘The Best.’”
Another interesting aspect of the anecdote he shared is the mention of the security guard in the car. “The fact that [William] mentioned that was also a real, ‘Oh yeah, royals are not like us.’ We don’t have a security officer,” Holmes says. But this mention also shines a spotlight on how special this moment truly was. “It was so fun that even a security guard would want to join in. There’s a lot to that little tidbit there,” Holmes adds.
So, now the question on all of our minds: Has the British Royal Family—or at least Prince William—seen Spencer? Or at least watched enough of it to nod to it via Fitness+? We can’t say for sure, but Holmes offers this final take: “It’s their responsibility to at least be aware.”
For more about the royals, listen to the Royally Obsessed podcast with co-hosts Rachel Bowie and Roberta Fiorito. Subscribe now or follow us on Instagram @royallyobsessedpodcast.