• Young Prince William was a troublemaker
  • Queen Elizabeth II was apparently concerned
  • She disliked when he joked about being King

Apparently, Prince William was well aware of his future as King when he was a child. And he liked to talk about it, much to the annoyance of his grandmother the Queen. That's according to The Palace Papers, a new book making headlines in the royal world.

The Queen thought Prince William was "a brat"

Tina Brown is the author of The Palace Papers, and she recounted the story. The behaviour of a young Prince William is said to have "been a cause of concern to the Queen when he showed signs of being a brat."

Brown writes that the Queen told Prince Philip that William was "out of control." She apparently despised when the youngster would say: "When I am king, I'm going to make a new rule that..."

The Palace Papers gives an example of Prince William talking back to his nanny. He would tell the nanny: "No one tells me what to do! When I am king I will have you punished."

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But the bratty stage was short-lived. Brown's book says Prince William smartened up by about age 6 and began understanding his future of "duty and responsibility."

Nevertheless, it's an amusing story. And perhaps it influenced how Prince William today raises his young son Prince George, the future King after himself.