Prince William's idea of a 'fun evening' with Kate Middleton focuses on 'trust and treachery' - in the best way

The Prince of Wales was once photographed heading to swanky London nightclubs but nowadays the dad-of-three's evenings look very different. We know very little about his and Kate's lives behind closed doors, but according to royal biographer Robert Hardman, there's a TV show that the couple can't get enough of.

"The King is the one who still enjoys sitting up writing letters into the night, whereas Prince William's idea of a fun evening, says one of his team, is to 'sit down with the Princess in front of The Traitors'," the author claims in Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story.

Since it first started the Claudia Winkleman-fronted BBC series has become a cultural phenomenon and now it's got the royal seal of approval. It's hard to imagine the future King and Queen watching a reality show, but as the BBC notes - The Traitors is an "ultimate reality game of trust and treachery."

Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story by Robert Hardman | £10.50 (was £22) at Amazon

This biography was meticulously researched and Hardman is the only biographer to have interviewed all the senior members of the Royal Family. He paints a portrait of a complex woman who was pulled in multiple directions.

View Deal

The show wouldn't be the same without the mind games and competition and if there's one thing William and Kate love it's being competitive. Watching other people taking on the challenges and outmanoeuvring each other isn't quite the same as doing it yourself, but it still probably appeals to their personalities.

Now I'm secretly hoping for two rather special guests on a future Celebrity Traitors series and if the rumours are true we could be just a few weeks away from the next instalment of the spin-off. Perhaps the Prince and Princess are already looking forward to incorporating it into their "fun evening" plans for autumn.

Having an unmissable TV show to watch together might also help take their minds off things as they adjust to everyday life without Prince George. The 13-year-old started at Eton on 8th September and Forest Lodge might feel very different for William, Kate, Charlotte and Louis now.

The Traitors isn't the only BBC programme that's a big hit in the Wales household though. Strictly Come Dancing will be kicking off soon (minus Claudia following her and Tess Daly's exit as hosts) and Kate once took Charlotte and Louis to the studio as a special treat, where they got to meet head judge Shirley Ballas.

Prince William has also seen Strictly before and told Claudia at a charity gala in 2019, "I have watched the show a couple of times. Catherine is a huge fan and my mother-in-law loves it."

Before long the Prince and Princess of Wales will also have a lot of films to add to their to-watch list too. William has been President of BAFTA since 2010 and he and Kate try to watch as many of the short-listed movies as possible before the awards every February.

At the 2026 BAFTAs, the mum-of-three also revealed that watching films with George, Charlotte and Louis can help to spark challenging but important discussions as a family.

"The children are starting to get interested in films and it's a really great way to have some of the hard conversations with them," she explained, adding that sometimes the movies are a tough watch for her too.

Although she found Hamnet "very powerful", as a mum Kate admitted it maybe wasn't the best choice of film for her (the plot includes the death of Shakespeare's son), saying she "ended up with very puffy eyes" from crying watching it.