The Prince of Wales opened up about his wife Kate's recovery from cancer, revealing: "Everything is progressing in the right way," as he added that 2024 was "the hardest year" he's ever had. Prince William, 43, made the candid remarks as he appeared on Eugene Levy's Apple TV+ series, The Reluctant Traveler.
The King and the Princess of Wales were both diagnosed with undisclosed forms of cancer within weeks of one another in early 2024, with Kate confirming she was in remission from the disease in January. Meanwhile, Charles is still receiving ongoing treatment.
© Courtesy of Apple"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," William said. "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."
The Prince briefly took some time away from his duties in March last year in order to support Kate and their three young children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, returning to his engagements in mid-April 2024.
"We all have challenges that come our way and it's important to keep going," William continued as he and the Schitts Creek star chatted over a pint. "So I enjoy my job, but sometimes there are aspects of it such as the media, the speculation, you know the scrutiny, that make it a little bit harder than other jobs. It's just making sure that doesn't overtake and intrude into areas at times when you just want a bit of space, and a bit of peace and quiet."
© Getty25 December 2023 – Kate is last seen publicly on Christmas Day
9 January 2024 – Kate celebrates her 42nd birthday, with the King and Queen sharing a behind-the-scenes photo from the coronation to mark the day.
11 January 2024 – William returns to royal duties, meeting rugby heroes Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield at Headingley Stadium in Leeds.
17 January 2024 – Kensington Palace announces in a statement that Kate has undergone abdominal surgery at the London Clinic and that William has temporarily stepped back from royal duties to care for Kate and their children.
18 January 2024 – William visits Kate at the London Clinic.
26 January 2024 – King Charles visits Kate in hospital before undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate.
29 January 2024 – Kate is discharged from hospital and returns home to Windsor to continue her recovery. King Charles also leaves the London Clinic on the same day after his treatment.
7 February 2024 – William resumes royal duties attending London's Air Ambulance Charity gala with Tom Cruise.
10 February 2024 – William and Kate spend February half-term with George, Charlotte and Louis at their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall. Kate's siblings are also pictured on holiday during the school holidays, with James Middleton and Alizee Thevenet flying to the Caribbean with baby Inigo, and Pippa Matthews and her family holidaying on the island of St Barts.
27 February 2024 – Kate said to be "doing well" as William pulls out of King Constantine memorial due to a "personal matter".
29 February 2024 – Kensington Palace addresses social media speculation, reiterating: "We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter."
10 March 2024 - A photograph of Kate with their three children at home in Windsor is released to mark Mother's Day and to thank the public for their "continued support".
11 March 2024 - Kate publicly apologises for the "confusion" around the photograph as she admitted she "occasionally experiments with editing," after news agencies pulled the image amid claims it had been digitally altered. The Princess is then seen in a car with William as she's driven to a private appointment in London.
19 March 2024 - Footage of William and Kate leaving the Windsor Farm Shop is shared by The Sun and TMZ in the first video sighting of the Princess since surgery.
22 March 2024 - Princess Kate confirms that she has been diagnosed with cancer in a moving video message and is undergoing preventative chemotherapy.
18 April 2024 - Prince William returns to royal duties after spending Easter holidays privately as a family.
10 May 2024 - Prince William says Kate is "doing well" as he visits the Isles of Scilly.
21 May 2024 - Princess Kate is "excited" as Kensington Palace shares update on her early years work with the release of her Business Taskforce's prioritising childhood report.
8 June 2024 - Princess Kate writes letter to Irish Guards to apologise for not being able to take part in the salute at the Colonel's Review.
14 June 2024 - In a personal statement, Kate shares she is making "good progress" and that her "treatment is ongoing and will be for a few more months".
15 June 2024 - Kate makes her first major public appearance since diagnosis at Trooping the Colour.
14 July 2024 - Kate watches the Men's final at Wimbledon with Princess Charlotte and Pippa Matthews.
11 August 2024 - William and Kate congratulate Team GB athletes in a video message after the Paris 2024 Olympics.
9 September 2024 - Kate confirms she's completed chemotherapy in moving video message.
10 October 2024 - Kate joins William on visit to bereaved families in Southport.
9/10 November 2024 - Princess attends Festival of Remembrance and Remembrance Day service at Cenotaph.
3 December 2024 - Kate greets Emir of Qatar alongside William during state visit.
6 December 2024 - The Princess of Wales hosts her Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey.
25 December 2024 - William and Kate attend the Christmas Day church service in Sandringham with the royals.
14 January 2025 - The Princess confirms she's in remission after visiting The Royal Marsden hospital in London - where she was treated.
"Very open family"
Eugene also asked the Prince about how Kate's cancer diagnosis and treatment affected the couple's children.
© Kensington Palace"Everyone has their own coping mechanisms for these sorts of things, and children are constantly learning and adapting," William replied. "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."
Elsewhere in the episode, William opens up more about his family life behind closed doors, the loss of his grandparents and how he will make his stamp on the monarchy.
"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.
