Anteater George
Nov. 2 2021, Published 12:55 p.m. ET
TV survival star Bear Grylls has finally told the full story of how he turned Prince George into an anteater!
In his new book, Never Give Up, Bear — who has trained ex-President Barack Obama and tennis ace Roger Federer for his shows — revealed the bizarre incident took place in 2019 when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge invited him to skipper a yacht on the Isle of Wight in southern England.
He recalled: “After the yacht race during the Cowes regatta I met George, and as I stooped down to shake his little hand, I noticed a trail of ants marching across the paving in between us.
“George stared down at them too, then looked up at me, eyes wide with trepidation and excitement.
“I knew that look well.
“I smiled at him and said: ‘Have you ever eaten an ant?’
“He shook his head nervously.
“‘You want to? Just you and me?’
“He looked round, then back at me and nodded.
“I grabbed one ant for him and got him to hold it between his fingers, then got one for myself.
“‘One, two, three … and in it goes … ready?’
“He looked more nervous now.
“I smiled reassuringly.
“‘It’ll be fine, we can do this..OK?
“‘One, two, three, here we go!’
“I will never tire of that wonderful grimace on people’s faces as they eat something from the survivor menu for the first time.
“Whoever they are, it’s priceless.
“But I don’t think I will ever see wider eyes than Prince George’s nor a broader grin.
“It was a fun moment that I hope, when he is king one day and I am an old man, he might still remember!”
On a recent visit to a zoo in Northern Ireland, Prince William revealed George, now eight, was “obsessed” with snakes and would be upset not to be there.
He’ll be getting into a nest of vipers soon enough!
