Prince William says 2024 was the hardest year of his life
In what has been described as his "most important interview" yet, Prince William talks candidly about his family and this vision for the monarchy.
Prince William has been praised for his authentic interview with actor Eugene Levy.
The heir to the British throne talked candidly about his admiration for his wife, Princess Catherine, his love for the royal family, and the future of the monarchy.
William appeared on an episode of 'The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy', which airs on Apple TV+. Levy interviewed the prince at Windsor Castle.
During the interview, the Prince of Wales, reflected on the recent hardships the family has faced, including King Charles and Princess Catherine's cancer scares.
"I’d say 2024 was the hardest year that I’ve ever had," William told Levy, per People.
"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 says it is important that his family feels protected.
"But you know, we all have challenges that come our way, and it’s important to keep going. So, you know, 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."
Princess Catherine stepped away from the spotlight before revealing in March 2024 that doctors found "cancer had been present" during an abdominal surgery.
Rumours started to swirl that the couple's relationship was on the rocks, with some going as far as to speculate that a divorce was imminent.
Others claimed that the princess was in hiding after botched plastic surgery, while social media users joked that the royal family had locked her away in a dungeon.
"On my way to go find Kate," Kim Kardashian joked amid the wild theories. William says he is proud of how Catherine and his father handled a tough year.
“You know life is sent to test us as well, and it definitely can be challenging at times, and being able to overcome that is what makes us who we are."
Catherine, who many still call Kate Middleton, is in remission, and according to William, "everything is progressing in the right way".
William also talks about wanting to protect his children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
"If you’re not careful, you can intrude so much into someone’s life that actually you start unpicking everything... 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."
William also made a rare comment about his brother, Prince Harry. His younger brother moved to America with his wife, Meghan Markle.
The brothers are reportedly estranged, but William has chosen not to talk too much about the state of their relationship.
Harry has opened up about their strained relationship in his memoir, 'Spare', and several interviews.
He has accused William of tackling him to the ground during a fight and claimed he never really accepted his wife, Meghan.
READ: Will Harry and Meghan return as senior working royals?
During his interview with Levy, the 43-year-old briefly mentioned Harry while discussing Prince George becoming king one day.
"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.”
William also plans to do things differently when he is king, and says change is on his 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, the idea of being able to bring some change. Not overly radical change, but changes that I think need to happen."
Watch William's 'The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy' episode on Apple TV+.
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