Prince William Nervously Held A Tarantula During Museum Opening

Britain's Prince William nervously held a tarantula as he opened the Natural History Museum's new Darwin Center. The future king was at the London attraction to celebrate the completion of the £78 million [$129 million] eight-storey complex and was asked if he wanted to hold the scary spider, named Sarah. William reluctantly agreed and held out his hands for the tarantula to be placed in them.

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He said: "She looks like an Alice not a Sarah."

When the spider was taken away, William added: "Woo, sweaty palms."

He then joked to the audience: "Just to warn you, that there is a spider loose somewhere in the Cocoon. It was given to me, and I seem to have lost it. If you see it, it goes by the name of Sarah."

The prince was then given a tour of the Darwin Center and was first taken to the entomology department where butterfly curator Blanca Huertas showed him their largest butterfly specimen, the Queen Alexandra's Birdwing, which has a wingspan of around six inches and was named after his great-great-great grandmother.

The new center - which allows visitors to see the institution's scientists at work - was praised by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

He said: "I'm delighted to see this exciting new part of the Natural History Museum open its doors."

"The Darwin Center is certain to engage the public in some of the great challenges facing our planet and inspire the young scientists of the future."