Prince William issues 'royal pardon' after tense exchange with students

Prince William issues 'royal pardon' to students after boos outside a lecture. Prince William was met with mixed reviews as he paid a visit to Ulster University – but now, in his TikTok debut, the future King has issued a so-called 'royal pardon'.

Samantha Johnson attended Prince William's visit at the University of Ulster and called on Wills, the Aston Villa fan, to help her explain on why she and her pals hadn't made it to their lesson on time. In a viral TikTok, William is seen helping her.

He addresses Samantha's phone, which she is holding up to his mouth, saying: "Leslie, 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 saying, 'Hi'."

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Samantha later admitted in the comments section of her clip: "I'm never topping this excuse. I’ve been royally pardoned from my lecture. Didn't expect him to be so sound." Video shared on X, previously known as Twitter, shows the Prince of Wales smile and wave despite the yells of ardent students at the Ulster University campus in Belfast city centre.

One reporter at the scene said William faced 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, the Prince 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". He said: "I, like so many others, want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible."

Dad-of-three William had a jam-packed schedule during his trip to Northern Ireland. In the afternoon, he visited Ulster University's Belfast City Campus Centre to meet pupils who are learning about visual production, and visited its state of the art studio.