PRINCE William has shared a health update on Princess Kate after spending the “hardest year of his life protecting her”.
The Prince of Wales opened up in a highly-revealing surprise appearance in Apple TV+’s The Reluctant Traveller.
Prince William has opened up on family life in a highly-revealing interview[/caption]
Prince William opened up like never before about his family life[/caption]
He gave a tour of Windsor Castle to comic host Eugene Levy, before having a chat over a pint in a local boozer.
Their wide-ranging conversations covered the history of the Royal Family, his relationship with his grandparents, challenges of growing up in the spotlight, his plans for the future and he even pulled back the curtain on his own family life.
He insisted that family stress overwhelms him far more than the job ever does and reiterated that 2024 was the hardest of his life.
But he said things were “good” and “everything is progressing in the right way” with his wife Catherine and father King Charles.
During a chat in local pub The Two Brewers, the Prince was asked more about how his family is coping after the King and Princess Kate’s cancer diagnoses.
He said: “Things are good. Everything is progressing in the right way, which is all good news. But, I’d say 2024 was the hardest year that I’ve ever had.
“Trying to sort of balance protecting the children, Catherine, my Father needs a bit of protection, but he’s you know, He’s old enough to do that himself as well.
“But it’s important my family feel protected and have the space to process a lot of the stuff that’s gone on last year, and that was tricky trying to do that and keep doing the job.
“But you know, we all have challenges that come our way and it’s important to keep going.”
He said it was “great news” that Catherine was in remission, and shared how his children coped with it: “Everyone has their own coping mechanisms for these sort of things, and children are constantly learning and adapting.
“We try to make sure we give them the security and the safety that they need.
“We’re a very open family, so we talk about things that bother us, and things that trouble us.
“But you can never quite know the knock-on effects that it can have. It’s just important to be there for each other and to reassure the children that everything is okay.”
‘CHANGE FOR GOOD’
Wills opened up about the future during his candid conversations with Levy.
The Prince discussed the hardships his family have been through[/caption]
He touched on his father, King Charles’ cancer diagnosis[/caption]
And gave a health update on Princess Kate[/caption]
Wills even discussed Prince George’s future role as King one day[/caption]
He said that being “genuine” is what drives his focus, rather than being King one day.
But when asked if he has the same feeling about his son Prince George becoming King, he said: “It’s an interesting question and it’s a big question that one. Because there’s lots of things to think about with that.
“But obviously, I want to create a world in which my son is proud of what we do, a world and a job that actually does impact people’s lives for the better.
“That is caveated with, I hope we don’t go back to some of the practices in the past, that Harry and I had to grow up in – and I’ll do everything I can to make sure we don’t regress in that situation.”
He added: “I think it’s safe to say that change is on my agenda. Change for good. And I embrace that and I enjoy that change – I don’t fear it.
“That’s the bit that excites me, is the idea of being able to bring some change. Not overly radical change, but changes that I think that need to happen.”
The Prince also revealed his children are not allowed phones as he wants to create a feeling of “safety, security and love” for them, adding that any parent wants to avoid making the same mistakes as their parents.
Notably, William only name-dropped his estranged brother Prince Harry once – when discussing how he does not want a return to practices they grew up with.
‘IT’S IMPORTANT TO LIVE, FOR THE HERE AND NOW’
Sources close to Prince William were delighted with how the final edit showed the future King as his most authentic self.
Levy travelled to London to film an episode around the Royal Family earlier this year.
But he had no idea Wills would show him around Windsor Castle until he checked into his hotel, staying in the same suite as Catherine before her wedding day, and received an invite from the Prince.
The next day, Wills was seen riding into the castle grounds to meet the Schitt’s Creek actor on an electric scooter – a mode of transport that The Sun first revealed is how the royal travels around Windsor.
Wills showed him the King’s Drawing Room, with views of Eton College that he attended.
He revealed he often popped round at weekends to see the late Queen Elizabeth, and said his relationship with his grandparents grew warmer as they got older.
He paid tribute to Prince Philip’s “great sense of humour” and told how he missed his grandmother.
They looked at various large portraits adorning the halls, including one of the late Queen, as he shared a sweet memory of his family chasing each other around St George’s Hall after hours.
Levy then asked if the sheer history of the 1,000-year-old institution overwhelmed him.
But the Prince said: “No, I wouldn’t say history overwhelms me. Other things overwhelm me, but not history no. Because I think if you’re not careful, history can be a real weight and an anchor round you, and you can feel suffocated by it, and restricted by it too much.
“And I think it’s important to live, for the here and now.
“But also, I think if you’re too intrinsically attached to the history, You can’t possibly have any flexibility, because you worry that the chess pieces move too much and therefore no change will happen – and I like a little bit of change.”
Probed on what he means, Wills said he wants to question things more, adding: “I think it’s very important that tradition stays, and tradition has a huge part in all of this but there’s also points where you look at tradition and go is that still fit for purpose today? Is that still the right thing to do?
“Are we still doing and having the most impact we could be having? So, I like to question things is what I’m really getting at.”
And asked what does overwhelm him, he said: “You know, worry or stress around the family side of things that does overwhelm me quite a bit. But in terms of, you know, doing the job and things like that, I don’t feel too overwhelmed by that.
“Not now anyway, when I was younger, yeah, there are bits that overwhelm you, a bit like ‘wow are we actually doing this? Is this sort of happening?’ but with time and age, I think you feel a bit more settled in that side of things and you go, actually I can do that. And even if a few curve balls come in, that doesn’t necessarily overwhelm me.
“When it’s to do with family and things like that, then that’s where I start getting a bit overwhelmed – as I think most people would, because it’s more personal, it’s more about feeling, it’s more about upsetting the rhythm, if you like.”
‘THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN MY LIFE IS FAMILY’
They then wandered into the Lantern Lobby, where they inspected Henry VIII’s armour and joked about how he was much smaller physically than his historical presence.
Wills joked about how his son Prince George was much better at history than him.
They also discussed the Windsor Castle fire in November 1992 – a year the late Queen called her Annus Horribilis.
The pair later took William’s dog Orla for a walk in the grounds, where William said his job was hardly a 9-5, but added: “Getting the balance of work and family life right is really important.
“Because for me, the most important thing in my life is family, and everything is about the future and about if you don’t start the children off now with a happy, healthy, stable home, I feel you’re setting them up for a bit of a hard time and a fall.
In a rare discussion about his childhood, he added: “I think it’s really important that that atmosphere is created at home.
“You have to have that warmth, that feeling of safety, security, love. That all has to be there, and that was certainly part of my childhood.
“My parents got divorced at eight, so that lasted a short period of time. But, you take that and you learn from it and you try and make sure you don’t do the same mistakes as your parents.
“I think we all try and do that and I just want to do what’s best for my children, but I know that the drama and the stress when you’re small really affects you when you’re older.”
He said his children are not allowed phones and revealed that Louis loves trampolining, Charlotte enjoys netball and ballet, and George loves football and hockey.
He said they are also trying to learn musical instruments, but added: “I’m not sure how successful we’re being with that.”
He revealed Louis loves trampolining, Charlotte enjoys netball and ballet, and George loves football and hockey[/caption]
The episode is airing on Apple TV on Friday[/caption]
