Royals who are left-handed: from Prince William to Sophie Wessex

August 13, 2020 – 13:34 BST Gemma Strong Royals who are left-handed, including Prince William, Sophie Wessex and Queen Victoria

August 13 marks International Left-Handers Day, and in celebration we are taking a look at which members of the royal family are lefties! It's thought that between ten and 12 per cent of the world's population are left-handed – including a number of prominent leaders, such as former US presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Over in the UK, famous war time PM Winston Churchill was left-handed, as is David Cameron. But what about the monarchy? HELLO! investigates…

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Prince William

Britain’s future king Prince William is famously a leftie, and has been seen on a number of occasions signing guest books using his left hand. He has even joked in the past about it, stating that “left-handers have better brains” than right-handers. One of the first times his trait became public knowledge was when he signed a book on his first day of school at Eton, where he was photographed alongside parents Prince Charles and Princess Diana and younger brother Prince Harry .

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Countess of Wessex

Sophie Wessex is another famous left-hander. The wife of Prince Edward is frequently photographed using her left hand to sign her name.

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King George VI

It's highly likely that Prince William inherited the left-handed gene from his great-grandfather, George VI . The Queen’s father was said to be naturally left-handed; although he would write with his right hand, he was frequently seen playing tennis with his left hand, such as in this snapshot.

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Queen Victoria

King George VI, meanwhile, seems to have inherited the distinctive trait from his great-grandmother, Queen Victoria! The monarch was often seen writing with her right hand, but would paint with her left hand, suggesting she may have been encouraged to write with the right instead – something that was common practice at the time.

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Prince George

It has been widely reported that Prince George is left-handed. But in recent photos, William and Kate’s eldest child seems to have a dominant right hand. While attending the polo in June 2018, he was pictured swinging a mallet with his right hand, and famously used the same hand to stir the Christmas pudding mixture in December 2019, along with the Queen , Prince Charles and Prince William.