Prince William becomes a TikTok sensation after Ulster student records him apologising on her behalf for being late to her lecture because she wanted to meet the royal

Prince William has become a TikTok sensation after a university student captured him apologising for running late on camera. 

The royal, 42, travelled to Ulster University’s Belfast City Campus Centre and met young people who going to enter the creative sector. 

He then came across pupil Samantha Johnson who asked if he could explain on camera why she would be late for her class.  

On the TikTok, Samantha said: ‘Yeah, just tell her why we’re late! Just say sorry,’ before William asked: ‘To Lesley? Are you recording?’

To which the student then replied: ‘Yeah.’ 

William then said: ‘Lesley, I’m very sorry we’re late but they seem to be caught up and they wouldn’t believe that you were here, so just say hi.’ 

Samantha then thanked William for helping to prove to her lecturer that she met the future King.

She claimed on another video that she ‘missed half her lecture’ due to Prince William’s security guards.  

The clip has already racked up 1.2million views on the platform, with many commenting their thoughts on the clip. 

One wrote: ‘William is generally the nicest person ever,’ to which Samantha replied: ‘I’ve fully changed my perspective of him after meeting him, he’s so so nice.’

Another penned: ‘Interactions with royals are getting more and more unserious and I love that for them.’

A third said: ‘I would send this everytime I take sick day or pto (paid time off).’

A fourth commented: ‘I thought they weren’t allowed to do that kind of thing with selfie cameras!!!’

To which Samantha said: ‘They aren’t lol, got super lucky.’

But this isn’t the first time William and his wife Kate have charmed the public with their friendly, down-to-earth approach.

In May last year, the Prince and Princess of Wales were all smiles as they posed for selfies with well-wishers outside the Dog and Duck pub in central London.

William’s naturally effortless indulgence of fans asking for selfies and videos signals yet another move towards a more personable approach at royal engagements. 

The royal travelled to Ulster University’s Belfast City Campus Centre and met young people who going to enter the creative sector

Samantha then thanked William for helping to prove to her lecturer that she met the future King

 Although there is no official protocol on selfies, the royals have a rule against signing autographs, so that they can’t be sold for large amounts of money.

And in the early days of camera phones, they seemed to shy away from being snapped with members of the public with Princes William and Harry and King Charles all voicing their dislike of the method.

However, in recent years, they’ve become commonplace, with Charles posing for his first selfie all the way back in 2014, and other royals from Sophie Wessex to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle following suit.

Yesterday, William travelled to the state-of-the-art Virtual Production Studio at Ulster University’s Belfast City Campus Centre, to meet pupils who are learning about innovative technologies in which a virtual set is created and displayed on LED walls.

And he enjoyed himself as he posed on a model motorbike and played around with the cameras. 

However, he also faced boos and jeers as he left the City Campus Centre after his visit.

He smiled and waved as students ardently yelled in the background.

William recorded a video message for the friend of a student who missed his visit to Ulster University’s Belfast City Campus Centre

Prince William faced boos and jeers as he left Ulster University’s Belfast City Campus Centre after a visit this afternoon

Video shared on X by Belfast Telegraph reporter Kurtis Reid showed the royal facing a ‘less than warm reaction’ as he made his way to a car.

Shouts also appeared to demand more action from the future King on ‘Palestine and Gaza’, with the social media clip finishing to chants of ‘Free Palestine’.

In February, William called for an end to the fighting in Gaza in an unprecedented royal intervention, writing that the ‘terrible human cost’ of the conflict had seen ‘too many killed’.

‘I, like so many others, want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible,’ the Prince said.

He also highlighted the desperate need for more humanitarian support for the civilians of Gaza and called on Hamas to release its remaining Israeli hostages.

Yesterday, William also met Belfast-born actor, James Martin – the first person with Down syndrome to win an Academy Award after performing in An Irish Goodbye – to discuss the growing success of the sector in Northern Ireland, and how Studio Ulster will help to further strengthen the country’s reputation as a global creative leader.

Over the last decade, the university helped to grow the creative industries sector in Northern Ireland, which is estimated to contribute £1.4bn to the local economy and employs more than 24,000 people.

The future King clearly enjoyed himself as he posed on a model motorbike and played around with the cameras

Over the last decade, the university helped to grow the creative industries sector in Northern Ireland, which is estimated to contribute £1.4bn to the local economy and employs more than 24,000 people

William met Belfast-born actor, James Martin to discuss the growing success of the sector in Northern Ireland, and how Studio Ulster will help to further strengthen the country’s reputation as a global creative leader

Later, William joined training workshop with young people from two local community groups who are being taught to operate software used in the creation of games, animation and virtual production. 

His day started with a meeting with partners involved in the Homewards programme, which was founded by himself in a bid to tackle homelessness. 

The engagement was designed to explore how local projects can be ‘scaled up’ to help prevent young people leaving care becoming homeless.

Northern Ireland is one of six Homewards locations across the UK where local partnerships are working to identify and solve issues that lead to homelessness.

William visited The Foyer, a temporary accommodation and support service which houses around 30 young people operated by the charity Simon Community, a member of the Homewards ‘Northern Ireland local Coalition’.

Research shows that a third of people with care experience in the UK become homeless within the first two years of exiting the care system, and 25 per cent of all people who have experienced homelessness have been in care at some point during their childhood.

Young people who have been in care may become homeless because they can’t access affordable housing, lack a support network or have experienced childhood trauma. In Northern Ireland, around 140 young people each year leave care and become homeless.