Prince William praises wife Princess Kate as he opens new youth centre

The Prince of Wales played basketball and decorated biscuits

The Prince of Wales made a rare comment about his wife, the Princess of Wales, as he opened a new youth centre in west London on Thursday.

As he had a go at icing biscuits during a series of activities at WEST, the new OnSide Youth Zone in Hammersmith and Fulham, Prince William quipped: "My wife is the arty one."

Kate, 42, is currently recuperating from abdominal surgery at the family's home in Windsor. HELLO! understands that William's engagement, which comes days after the row about a digitally-enhanced photograph of the Princess and her children on Mother's Day, was always intended to be solo.

As he decorated the biscuits, the father-of-three added: "Even my children are artier than me."

"Louis loves sprinkles," he said, adding them liberally. And when asked about his favourite biscuit, William was quick to respond with chocolate digestives or a Kit-Kat.

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William joined youngsters as they played basketball, pool and arts and crafts at the centre as he urged people to spend less time on their phones, confessing: "The grown-ups are guilty of it too We have got to be better at it, our phones, too. We spend ages on our phones."

He asked the room of young people: "Are all of you on your phone quite a lot? Do you know how long you spend on your phones?

"Do you think it's a good idea to be on your phone all day?" before adding, "Who said yes!?" in mock outrage.

As William made his way over to the basketball court, talk turned to football as the Prince, an avid Aston Villa fan, quizzed the players on which teams they support

Agreeing to try and shoot a hoop, it was fifth time lucky for William before he finally scored and could celebrate. Take a look in the clip below…

WATCH: Prince William shoots hoops and decorates biscuits at youth centre

When asked about his children George, Charlotte and Louis' favourite hobbies, William said of eight-year-old Charlotte: "She loves her ballet."

Named WEST (standing for ‘Where Everyone Sticks Together’) by local young people, the new Youth Zone will be staffed by skilled and dedicated youth workers who will support young people from across west London to develop the skills and confidence they need to achieve their dreams.

WEST Youth Zone is a newly formed local independent charity with facilities including a sports hall, fitness suite, indoor climbing wall, teaching kitchen, performing arts studio and café which will serve hot nutritious meals costing no more than £1.

Praising the centre, William said: "What you've done here is incredible, I really like the concept, it ticks all the boxes - it's fun, safe, educational... It's great."

Listen to the latest episode of HELLO!'s A Right Royal Podcast

WEST has been developed by OnSide, a national youth centre charity. It has 14 "youth zones" across the country and seven more due to open, with a mission to empower young people to lead positive, fulfilling lives.

In 2021, the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited OnSide's Wolverhampton Youth Zone, 'The Way'.

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