An eagle-eyed fan has spotted something unusual about these photographs of Prince William in Scotland

Prince William was pictured trying his hand at DIY during a royal engagement with Church Scotland during his Royal Tour last mont

Prince William during his visit to the Grassmarket Community Project, a social enterprise set up by Greyfriars Kirk (Church of Scotland) on May 23, 2021 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince William was recently on a Royal Tour of Scotland, a place close to the Duke's heart. But one photograph during his time in Edinburgh captured the attention of royal fans for an unusual reason. 

  • Prince William began his royal tour of Scotland on Friday, where he attended an event in Edinburgh to highlight the mental health benefits of sports. 
  • The Duke of Cambridge was later pictured sawing some wood at the Grassmarket Community Project's workshop, a social enterprise set up by Greyfriars Kirk of the Church of Scotland—and an eagle-eyed fan has spotted something significant about the photograph. 
  • In other royal news, Why is the Queen not at Ascot? The potential reason Her Majesty could skip the event this year.

During the royal couple's trip to Scotland, the Duke of Cambridge had a busy weekend carrying out a mini Royal Tour of Scotland where he taking part in numerous events and activities in Edinburgh and the surrounding areas. 

While carrying out an engagement in Edinburgh at Grassmarket Community Project, the Duke of Cambridge turned his hand to some DIY in the organization's workshop, where the social enterprise makes furniture from recycled pews and other responsibly resourced wood.

It was during this DIY activity that some royal fans noticed something unusual about the Duke of Cambridge.

rince William, Duke of Cambridge (R) in the centre's workshop, which makes furniture from recycled pews and other responsibly-resourced wood, during his visit to the Grassmarket Community Project

(Image credit: Getty Images)
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Prince William was pictured sawing some wood alongside the founder of the Grassmere Community Project, Greyfriars Kirk. 

Fans praised the pictures of the Duke of Cambridge, with one writing, "Good to know you are in Scotland now! Beautiful pictures." While another commented, "Absolutely loving these engagements!"

But another royal follower spotted something significant about the picture that others may have missed. "Just noticed William is ambidextrous," the royal fan wrote on Twitter. "He writes with his left hand, but here he's using a saw with his right. Good for him."

It appears that although the Prince has stated on many occasions that he is left-handed, he is ambidextrous and sometimes uses his less-dominant hand for other tasks.

Prince William is known for being left-handed and has previously joked, “left-handers have better brains,” according to Yahoo! 

This isn't the first time Prince William's ambidexterity has been a topic of conversation online. 

When a video emerged of William and Catherine playing table tennis during a royal engagement at Savannah House—a center in Ireland that provides refuge for young people facing challenges at home—royal followers were impressed that he held the bat with his right hand, despite being left-handed.

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"Is Prince William ambidextrous?" queried one Twitter user. While another said, "Prince William is very ambidextrous, he chops wood and tosses pancakes with his right hand and does everything else with his left. How cool."

Research suggests that all left-handed people have a certain degree of ambidexterity, but only 1% of the population is truly ambidextrous. Where Prince William sits on the spectrum isn't clear, but having some level of ambidexterity certainly puts him in good company. Mental Floss reports, "Leonardo da Vinci, Pete Rose, Richard Feynman, pitcher Greg A. Harris, Michelle Kwan, Shigeru Miyamoto, Paul McCartney, Benjamin Franklin, and Harry Truman," all have cross-dominant hands. 

It's also reported that Prince William and Kate's oldest child, Prince George, is left-handed, like his dad. Medical experts Medline Plus report that although left handed-ness is rare, there is a genetic component that means left-handedness can be inherited. Medline Plus reports, "Children of left-handed parents are more likely to be left-handed than are children of right-handed parents." 

Left-handedness is common within the Royal Family, as The Queen Mother was reportedly left-handed, as was William's great-grandfather and the Queen's father King George VI. 

Prince William's left-handedness was picked up by royal fans when the Prince received his Covid-19 vaccine. Although many were more interested to look at the Prince's muscular arms, some noticed that he opted to have his injection in his right arm as opposed to his left. 

The typical advice from the NHS when receiving a vaccine is that you get the injection in your non-dominant arm in case there are any negative side effects that take place after the event such as swelling or numbness. Therefore, Prince William having the injection in his right arm confirmed that he is in fact left-handed. 

Prince William at Cold Town House in Grassmarket

Prince William also met with emergency responders at the Cold Town House in the Grassmarket in Edinburgh

(Image credit: Getty Images)

During the tour, the Duke of Cambridge expressed how his memories of Scotland are bittersweet. Prince William, of course, met his wife Catherine at the University of St Andrews—but Scotland is also the place he retreated to after his mother's death. 

The Duke of Cambridge revealed during a speech in Edinburgh that he was at Balmoral Castle, the Queen's Aberdeenshire home, when he found out his mother, the late Princess Diana, had died in a car accident in 1997. It then became the location for the Duke of Cambridge's "dark days of grief".

"Scotland is a source of some of my happiest memories but also my saddest," he said at Edinburgh's Assembly Hall, where the Duke was appointed Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland by the Queen on 22 May. "I was in Balmoral when I was told that my mother had died. Still in shock, I found sanctuary in the service at Crathie Kirk that very morning and in the dark days of grief that followed, I found comfort and solace in the Scottish outdoors.

"As a result, the connection I feel to Scotland will forever run deep. Alongside this painful memory is one of great joy because it was here in Scotland 20 years ago this year that I first met Catherine. Needless to say, the town where you meet your future wife holds a very special place in your heart."

In a more lighthearted moment on tour, the Duchess of Cambridge was asked by a child if she was a 'Prince,' to which William replied, 'No, she's a Princess'. While the  Duchess of Cambridge is officially a Princess, she still goes by the Duchess of Cambridge. However, Kate Middleton's title is set to change—as will Prince William's title—when Prince Charles becomes King. It is thought that the couple will then take the titles of the Prince and Princess of Wales. 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have since concluded their tour of Scotland and returned home to their home in Kensington Palace.

Lauren Hughes

Lauren is the former Deputy Digital Editor at woman&home and became a journalist mainly because she enjoys being nosy. With a background in features journalism, Lauren worked on the woman&home brand for four years before going freelance. Before woman&home Lauren worked across a variety of women's lifestyle titles, including GoodTo, Woman's Own, and Woman magazine.