It is one of the most candid conversations he’s ever shared publicly and one that goes to the heart of what the Prince of Wales wants for his family and his future. In deeply personal, emotional and at times, humorous, remarks, Prince William opens up about balancing work and family life, the impact of his parents’ divorce, protecting his wife and children, missing his grandparents and his approach to his destiny as monarch.
Sharing his vision for his time as King, he reveals: "change is on my agenda" and looking further ahead to a time when Prince George is in his position, he says he wants to "create a world in which my son is proud of what we do."
The heir-to-the throne's thoughts are shared with Hollywood star Eugene Levy, who he takes on on a private tour of Windsor Castle, a dog walk with the Wales's black cocker spaniel Orla and to the Two Brewers pub in Windsor, in a special episode of Eugene's Apple TV+ show The Reluctant Traveler. Over a pint of cider, William says he doesn’t wake up in the morning and think about becoming King, adding: "To me, being authentic and being myself, and being genuine is what drives me."
He adds: "I take my roles and my responsibilities seriously but, it's important… you don't feel they own you - you have to own them."
Asked if he feels the same about George becoming King, he says: "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. 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."
© Courtesy of AppleHe adds that he hopes "we don't go back to some of the practices in the past, that Harry and I had to grow up in," which is thought to be referring to media intrusion into his childhood, something he makes clear he will not tolerate for his own family.
"Growing up I saw that with my parents," he tells Eugene. "And if you let that creep in, the damage it can do to your family life is something that I vowed would never happen to my family. And so, I take a very strong line about where I think that line is and those who overstep it, you know I'll fight against."
© Courtesy of AppleHe says: "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."
William adds: "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." The Prince is thought to have been referring to his own memories of the breakdown of his parents' marriage, which officially ended when he was 14.
Family time
Elsewhere, William shares how he, Kate and their children sit down together for meals. "We sit and chat, it's really important. None of our children have any phones, which we're very strict about," he says.
Asked what they do instead, William says Louis "is obsessed with trampolining" and that he and Charlotte "end up jumping up and down on the trampoline, beating each other up, most of the time. Apparently, there is an art to it. Charlotte does her netball as well and her ballet and so keeping them busy with sports and being outdoors is really important. They're trying to learn musical instruments. I'm not sure how successful we're being with that. George loves his football and his hockey."
© Courtesy of AppleAs he and Eugene walk through St George's Hall inside the castle, William recalls how he and his cousins would end up with "massive splinters" from running up and down the old oak floor, which is now carpeted. "My children don't realise how lucky they are, they've got a big old carpet they can run down and there's no splinters," he says. "We come in after hours and chase each other around sometimes."
Looking at a "not particularly tall" Henry VIII's armour, he jokes, "George, my son, is way better in history than I am and I have to check with him now on my dates."
Windsor Castle fire
William also recalls watching the 1992 fire at Windsor Castle on TV while having dinner at Highgrove with his mother Diana and commiserates with Eugene, whose Los Angeles home was destroyed by wildfire just a few weeks before filming. Taking in the history of the 1000-year-old castle, William says: "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. I want to question things more."
© Getty“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."
William also reveals that while parts of his role overwhelmed him when he was younger, "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'."
Protecting his wife
Reflecting on Kate's recovery from cancer treatment, he says: "Things are good. Everything is progressing in the right way, which is all good news. 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 says George, Charlotte and Louis have managed "brilliantly", adding: "We try to make sure we give them the security and the safety that they need and we're a very open family, so we talk about things that bother us, and things that trouble us, but you never quite know the knock-on effects that it can have. And so, it's just important to be there for each other and to kind of reassure the children that everything is okay."
© Courtesy of AppleElsewhere, he shares memories of his own childhood and spending time with his grandparents Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at Windsor, where he would visit them for "the best tea ever".
"My grandparents were of a different generation," says William. "I think when we were younger, it was harder to have that very close relationship because it was quite formal, but as they got older and I got older it got warmer and warmer and I definitely think my relationship was best with my grandparents when they were more in their, sort of 80s. When they'd sort of, relaxed a little bit."
He described Prince Philip as "incredibly amusing, sometimes not deliberately, sometimes by accident. But we had a lot of laughs and he had a great sense of humour as did my grandmother as well actually. But, my grandfather definitely was the one who'd create quite a few laughs. And it was, you know, it was happy times. There was always a warmness, there was always a laughter, there was always a family feel. And my grandparents loved having the family around them, so we were always encouraged to turn up and be around."
"The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy" episode 304 "Living the Royal Life in the UK" will premiere globally on Friday, 3 October on Apple TV+.
© GettyOver on The HELLO! Royal Club, HELLO!'s royal editor Emily Nash has addressed recent rumours of a rift between King Charles and his heir, Prince William. Emily spoke to royal insiders to get to the truth of the matter, and you can find out what they said by clicking the button below and joining HELLO!'s biggest royal fans in the biggest royal community online.
