'You Had One Job,' Says Twitter After Prince William Confuses China And Japan

Prince William had a foot-in-the-mouth moment recently when, during the opening of a Japanese culture centre in London, he asked kids present if they liked Chinese food. A video shared on Twitter by a Daily Mail correspondent shows the Duke of Cambridge at a table with young children, enjoying a meal. "Have you guys had much Chinese food?" he asks, before swiftly correcting himself with "Sorry, Japanese food."

The incident took place on Thursday, reports Daily Mail.

Watch the slip up below:

Prince William was in great form at the opening of @japanhouseldn - charming & engaging. But even a royal diplomat can make the odd bloop. Such as asking local schoolchildren at the event to highlight Japanese culture if they had eaten much Chinese food! He quickly recovered tho! pic.twitter.com/72swlvNbk0

- Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) September 13, 2018

There were some who defended Prince William:

I don't care if he made blooper. He was trying to make polite conversation . You think it's easy?

- sunny (@pdrivbamboo929) September 13, 2018

However, a large majority seemed to think the blunder was unforgivable:

"The odd bloop". This man's only responsibility is to show up at events that his staff organize for him and know his audience. He's just bad at his job.

- TorontoKate (@TorontoKateD) September 13, 2018

He had one job pic.twitter.com/JvQwTaE4EH

- Countess Roxana "Sugar Lips" Mabrey VIII (@Eteriy) September 13, 2018

Never do such a mistake if you are hanging out with Chinese or Japanese people. I don't think there is a worst insult to them: Prince William mixes up Japan and China in latest royal gaffe https://t.co/PPcypeJSaN

- myactivebrain (@myactivebrain) September 14, 2018

Prince William was accompanied to the opening by Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso. At the event, he tried the traditional Japanese sake rice wine and ate salmon sashimi prepared specially by famed chef Akira Shimizu.

This isn't the first time a British personality has confused the two countries. In July, Britain's foreign minister Jeremy Hunt made an awkward debut in China when he sought to curry favour with his hosts by mentioning his Chinese wife, but accidentally referred to her as "Japanese".