Prince William travelled to Newport for the Wales Investment Summit on Monday, and took the opportunity to reminisce about his own time living in the country.
The even saw 300 business leaders and global investors from 27 different countries come together. First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan, said: "Today is about celebrating Wales and encouraging even more companies to invest here."
In Williams speech, he said: "Wales was the first place Catherine and I made our home together, on the island of Anglesey. And when you make a home in Wales, you join a family of three million people, and the sense of warmth and belonging is what makes Wales unlike anywhere else," he told the audience. Adding: "I'm pleased to be continuing the work of my father, The King, who over half a century ago personally encouraged the co-founder of Sony to open its first European factory here in Wales."
It has been reported that the now-monarch personally encouraged the co-founder of Sony to open a factory in the nation, opening the door for so many jobs.
The Prince of Wales title was handed down from Charles to William in 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II and when Charles ascended to the throne.
When William took on the role, a statement from Kensington Palace read: "HRH expressed his and The Princess of Wales’s honour in being asked by His Majesty The King to serve the Welsh people. They will do so with humility and great respect. The prince acknowledged his and the princess’s deep affection for Wales, having made their first family home in Anglesey including during the earliest months of Prince George’s life. The prince and princess will spend the months and years ahead deepening their relationship with communities across Wales."
What was William and Kate's Welsh home like?
The couple lived in a four-bedroom country house in Anglesey, Wales from 2011 to 2013, along with their young son Prince George.
The family rented a farmhouse on the Bodorgan Estate for approximately £750 per month from Lord and Lady Meyrick. It had private beach access and beautiful views of Newborough Forest. Prince William once described it as an "immensely special place", and we can see why!
The Prince moved there when he was stationed in Anglesey to train for the Royal Air Force. While William moved there first, Kate joined him a few months later, while she was working at her parents' company as a website designer, photographer and relationships manager.
They moved into Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace after William's job as a military pilot ended in 2013. At the time, William said: "This island has been our first home together, and it will always be an immensely special place for us both. Catherine and I look forward to returning again and again over the coming years with our family."
Princess Kate's feelings of isolation
Despite William recalling fond memories, the experience might have been a little different for his wife. The couple resided there when Prince George was a small baby, and Kate has spoken out about her feelings of "isolation".
During a visit to a children's centre in Cardiff in 2020, the royal said: "I was chatting to some of the mums, I had just had George and William was still working with search and rescue, so we came up here when George was a tiny, tiny little baby, in the middle of Anglesey.
"It was so isolated, so cut off, I didn't have my family around me, he was doing night shifts, so if only I'd had a centre like this at a certain time."