Prince William Poses With Paddington Bear, Plays Soccer With Schoolchildren in China: Pics!

Royal is currently in Shanghai to promote British commerce

By Alyssa Toomey Mar 03, 2015 11:12 PMTags
Prince William, Duke of CambridgeJOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images

Apparently, Paddington Bear and Prince William make a pretty adorable pair. 

The 32-year-old royal is currently in China to promote British commerce, and while there, he visited schoolchildren in Shanghai, where he spoke to the youngsters about soccer—and even showed off his skills!—before later attending the premiere of Paddington and meeting the famous bear. 

William has been in China—sans pregnant wife Kate Middleton, who is due to give birth to the couple's second child in April—since Sunday when he kicked off the GREAT Festival of Creativity, which is said to "demonstrate the best of British creativity and the role it plays in creating competitive advantage in today's world."

Following a successful four-day trip to Japan, William traveled to China, where he visited the Forbidden City in Beijing on Monday before later meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People.

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Tim Rooke - Pool/Getty Images

On Tuesday, Prince George's papa visited a Shanghai high school and attended a soccer event. The handsome royal watched the youngsters play as they were being couched by England's Premier League, and he was also photographed kicking around a soccer ball. 

Soccer (or "football" as they call it across the pond) is about to become part of the national curriculum in China, and the Duke of Cambridge encouraged the students to stick with the sport. 

"The duke told the children that if they keep on working hard hopefully one day they might play in the Premier League," BBC News reports. "He asked them if they knew who David Beckham was, and said that if they got involved in football then one day they might meet him."

Later in the day, William attended the movie premiere, where he flashed a giant grin as he posed alongside Paddington. 

Here's hoping he brought a toy bear home for Prince George!