Prince William Takes Selfie Tips at Cricket on the Mall
The Prince of Wales took photography advice from the crowd on The Mall. A woman handed Prince William her phone for a selfie, then lifted his arm higher to get the perfect angle. He kept grinning while she corrected his technique. Hello! Magazine
The exchange happened during 'Cricket on the Mall', an Earthshot Prize event he hosted on the road outside Buckingham Palace. The Earthshot Prize, the environmental award he founded and leads as Founder and President, was the reason the game was staged. The idea was straightforward: close a stretch of ceremonial road, play street cricket and invite everyone to watch.
England cricketer Joe Root appeared alongside the Prince at the Earthshot event. People Large crowds gathered on The Mall to watch the spectacle unfold. Nine The Mall, the wide avenue that runs to the Palace gates, served as the pitch for the day.
During the engagement the Prince greeted royal fans and stopped to pose for pictures. That meant a run of selfies taken one after another with members of the crowd. The arm adjustment came in the middle of that run. He held the pose while the framing was fixed.
The Court Circular, the official daily record that lists engagements by working royals, notes his participation in a game of street cricket on the Mall, London SW1. The Royal Household The entry is brief by design. It records the place and the act. The photographs and the crowd accounts add the colour.
As Founder and President, the formal title used for his Earthshot role, his job was to host rather than simply attend. Founder means he set the Prize up. President means he remains its public head. Those two words explain why his name was on the event.
What makes this stand out is the small reversal. In most meet-and-greet photographs, the guest stands still and lets the host arrange things, but here the guest took charge. She handed over the phone, moved his arm upwards and checked the result. He laughed and let her finish the job.
For anyone picking up this story on a phone, the appeal is easy to see. Everyone has taken a poor selfie and knows the friend who will retake it until the angle works. This time the helpful friend was in the crowd and the phone holder was the Prince. The arm went up, the grin stayed and the picture was taken.
The game carried on around it. The crowd stayed. The cricket stayed at the centre.
