Prince William made a "royal dad joke" during a visit to Bristol University last week - while his estranged brother Prince Harry headed to court 120 miles away in London.
The Prince of Wales, 43, headed to the southwest of the country to undertake engagements relating to sustainability and future technologies. This included a trip to the university to see the UK's most powerful supercomputer, Isambard-AI, learning about how technology offers huge potential in fields such as robotics, big data, climate research and drug discovery.
There, he was given a gift of three small LEGO figures of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel for his children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, ten, and Prince Louis, seven.
In a video shared to Instagram, Evelyn Welch, Vice-Chancellor and President at the University of Bristol, said: "We were really delighted to give Prince William three little Lego models of Isambard Kingdom Brunel to take back home to his children. And he left saying that he knew where to come when George needed help with his homework!"
One person commented: "How lovely", with a second writing: "Awww those Lego IKBs are so sweet!" Another said: "Such a lovely moment, learning, Lego, and a royal dad joke all in one. Great visit to Bristol uni."
A royal love for LEGO
As hinted at by William, it seems that young Prince George loves LEGO building blocks. Even on an engagement to Woking, Surrey, back in 2017, William revealed George "would love" a life-size LEGO model of a McLaren supercar. He added at the time: "My son's very into LEGO and he'd love this. It's incredible!"
In 2022, when announcing a special visit to Denmark, the Princess of Wales used LEGO bricks to spell out news of her trip - with the toys no doubt belonging to George, Charlotte and Louis. Meanwhile, in a letter sent last March, William and Kate shared that their eldest son also enjoys football, tennis and horse riding.
William visits Bristol miles away from Harry
While William enjoyed learning about new technologies in Bristol, his brother Prince Harry was in London to support Elizabeth Hurley in the stands for the ongoing trial against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail.
It's believed the last time the brothers were in the same room together was August 2024, when they both attended the funeral of their maternal uncle, Lord Fellowes, who was married to Princess Diana's sister, Jane. However, the Princes reportedly did not interact with each other and chose not sit near each other.
"Yes, they were in the same country, but it's like they're worlds apart," the royal author Robert Jobson told HELLO!, following the consecutive visits last week. "William and Kate are the embodiment of the future of the monarchy, while Harry looks trapped in the past.
"William is out there doing the job, serving, while Harry, back in court and nursing old wounds, is still fighting yesterday's battles. The divide is now absolute and Harry's distance from his family isn't measured in miles anymore."
Meanwhile, William visited the headquarters of Matter, an Earthshot finalist and a pioneer in sustainable technology. He was shown around the headquarters by Matter's CEO, Adam Root. The royal was shown the firm's filtration devices, which aim to prevent microplastics from entering waterways.
On his second outing, William was introduced to Paralympic champion Emma Wiggs. She showed him a new paracanoe seat that had been designed for her using digital tools and embedded sensors. For his final engagement of the day, William headed to the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, which carries out research into multi-disciplinary robotics. He was even seen having a go on a mobility scooter.