Prince William channels Batman on movie studio trip

British royal Prince William fulfilled every teenage boy's ambition on Friday (26Apr13) by clambering into the Batmobile and sitting astride the Bat-bike from Christian Bale's superhero movies.

The second-in-line to the throne joined his pregnant wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and his brother Prince Harry for a tour of the Warner Bros. film studios in Leavesden, England.

Bale's Batman trilogy was largely shot in the U.K. and hi-tech props from the films are housed at the Warner studio, which also boasts a tour of sets used in the Harry Potter franchise.

When the royal group was shown gadgets from the Batman movies, William could not resist posing for photos in the car and on the motorcycle - renamed a 'Batpod' in 2008 film The Dark Knight - while his brother Harry suggested taking the vehicles for a weekend of high jinx.

In a speech following the tour, William said, "To be honest, I'm over the moon just to see the real Batmobile and Batpod... You don't do baby seats for those cars by any chance, do you? On the other hand, Harry is just excited to see a real life talking owl in the Harry Potter films. I haven't told him yet that Harry Potter is actually fictional, so please don't let the secret out yet."

He later added, "Catherine, Harry and I are very much looking forward to the Harry Potter studio tour coming up shortly."

William was visiting the studios in his role as president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to launch its new Prince William Scholarships in games, TV and film, which will help fund creative studies for three students every year.