In a historic visit, Prince William — the British royal who’s married to Kate Middleton — is traveling to Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Territories later in June.
Sadly, his adorable kids won’t be with him. But, nonetheless, the prince’s visit will be one for the record books: He is the first member of the royal family to visit Israel on an official visit.
In a statement, Kensington Palace outlined his itinerary. He’s visiting Yad Vashem with the British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin, meeting with two non-profits focused on co-existence and attending a soccer game in Jaffa, and will end his visit in Tel Aviv.
What Prince William is up to in Tel Aviv is unclear; the statement merely reads, “The next morning of the 27th will begin back in Tel Aviv, with a visit that we are really looking forward to, but will not be announcing in advance.”
What could they possibly be looking forward to?! We don’t know, but we have a few guesses. (And if the Palace wants to borrow these ideas? Feel free!)
1. Maybe he’ll visit the Shuk Ha’carmel.
Prince William is dad to three — George (4), Charlotte (3), and baby Louis (1 month) — and we imagine his kids (well, the older two) are big fans of candy. What kid doesn’t like sugar?
Israeli candy = the perfect souvenir, and the large outdoor market is the perfect place to sample it all. As one friendly tourist wrote on TripAdvisor, “To see, taste, hear and smell the real Israel, this is the best place to go!”
2. Maybe he’ll go surfing on the Tel Aviv beach.
OK, maybe this is more of a Prince Harry thing — he certainly seems like the more adventurous brother. But we can imagine Prince William willing to try what the locals are up to.
Tel Aviv is considered one of the world’s best cities for surfers. Tourist Israel explains, “Surf schools dot the city’s coastline, and surf-boards are constantly seen around the city.” Maybe, inspired by his new Californian sister-in-law Meghan Markle, Prince William is going to check out a surf school? (Fun fact: at the recent royal wedding, Prince Harry and Markle selected seven charities for wedding gifts, and Surfers Against Sewage was one of them. Surfers are clearly on the mind of the Royal fam!)
3. Maybe Prince William will go clubbing.
Tel Aviv is famous for its nightclub scene. Could you imagine Prince William in da club? It’s actually in his genes: His mom, Princess Diana used to party at a gay club with Freddie Mercury. Seriously!
Maybe William has a wild side like his mom… but probably not. He seems to be dad-like, down to his bones — he danced like an awkward dad even before he had kids.
4. Maybe he’ll eat a ton of falafel and hummus.
Tel Aviv’s food is world renowned, obviously. Maybe Prince William’s secret Tel Aviv activity is… wait for it… eating! Israel’s cultural capital is known for its abundance of upscale restaurants — super-fresh, tasty hipster joints spring to mind — as well its array of tasty street food, most famous of all being, of course, falafel.
This seems somewhat likely, as Prince William was apparently raised to be a very adventurous eater. As the Royal Chef explained to Racked, Princess Diana made sure her kids were not picky: “At a young age, they tried to get the boys to eat things that everyone was eating so that later on in their lives they could go off and be in weird, wonderful places eating weird, wonderful things.” And Prince William will soon be in a wonderful place (Tel Aviv) that’s known for many “weird, wonderful things.”
5. Or perhaps he’ll meet Gal Gadot!
An outing with Israel’s most famous leading lady — possibly the closest thing Israel has to royalty — would definitely be exciting enough to keep secret. We’re hoping Gadot somehow pops up on this royal trip. They could bond over being parents! Over everyone in the obsessing over them! There’s so much they might have in common!!
Plus, Gadot’s an experienced tour guide: In this fabulous profile on Gadot from 2017 in GQ Magazine, she took the writer, Caity Weaver, to the beaches of Tel Aviv and they went swimming.
Shalom, Prince William, and safe travels!
