During a visit to Woodgate Valley Urban Farm in Birmingham on Thursday, the 41-year-old Prince of Wales offered insight into his family life with his wife, Princess Kate, and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. He disclosed that they have pet guinea pigs at home.

He made the sweet revelation whilst he was grooming a guinea pig with a child who uses the facility. “These guys are pretty cool,” he said. “We’ve got guinea pigs at home and they’re not like this.

“I spend my life cleaning out the guinea pig cage because the children forget to do it.” He added: “The ones we’ve got at home, they’re off. You have to keep them constantly stroked and looked after.”

During his visit, William toured the farm and engaged with various staff and volunteers. Woodgate Valley Urban Farm, a city farm, is dedicated to assisting children and young individuals facing challenges in accessing education and dealing with mental health issues.

Spanning six acres, this community farm hosts numerous therapeutic programs for children. Participants receive one-on-one support while on-site, and studies have indicated a notable improvement in their mental health and overall well-being through regular visits.

Supported by funding from the National Lottery, the farm caters to small groups currently out of education and sibling groups from a nearby children’s hospice. Prince William’s heartwarming revelation follows his recent visit to St Michael’s Church of England High School in Rowley Regis. Initially invited by 12-year-old schoolboy Freddie Hadley, who sent a letter last October, the future king joined Freddie and other male pupils aged 11 to 14 involved in the school’s Matrix Project.

This initiative aims to shed light on male mental health and reduce stigma through the #AmIManlyEnough campaign launched last year, encouraging men and boys to openly discuss their emotions.

William opened up about his inspiration around his work on mental health, telling the students: “It started really when I was doing lots of charitable work, I never set out to look out into mental health, particularly male mental health.

“I was interested in homelessness, depression, addiction, all these separate areas and I hadn’t really put them altogether as a jigsaw – what are we looking at? What are we trying to fix? It all came together as a mental health piece.

“My passion, if you like, has moved now into male mental health because of the stats you [James] mentioned at the beginning, about the suicide rate in young men is just terrifying, and I wanted to do something about it.”