William tells Eugene Levy of The Reluctant Traveler that his desire to provide his kids with a home full of ‘safety, security and love’ was ‘definitely’ inspired by his late mother, Princess Diana
Prince William believes that his hope for his kids to have a “relatively normal home life” was inspired by his late mother, Princess Diana.
In the Oct. 3 episode of Eugene Levy’s Apple TV+ series, The Reluctant Traveler, William gives perhaps the most candid interview of his life, opening up about his childhood, his royal family and his destiny as the future King of England.
Despite their lofty duties as Prince and Princess of Wales, William explains that he and wife Kate Middleton, both 43, make a daily effort to keep things grounded for their three children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7.
“I do try and stick to school timetables as best as possible. So, most days we’re in and out of school doing pick-ups and drop-offs,” William says of his work schedule, which he admits is “not exactly” the typical 9-to-5.
“Getting the balance of work and family life right is really important,” he shared. “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.”
When Levy asks if that worldview was inspired by his late mother, he doesn’t hesitate: “Yes, definitely.”
“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,” he says.
“That all has to be there, and that was certainly part of my childhood,” he adds, though he admits, “My parents got divorced at 8, so that lasted a short period of time.”
Diana and then-Prince Charles married on July 29, 1981. Within just a few years, the marriage was strained, largely due to Charles’ long-running affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, though there was infidelity on both sides. The couple announced their separation in 1992. After years of turmoil — including Diana’s bombshell 1995 interview with Martin Bashir, where she said, “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded” — their divorce was finalized on August 28, 1996.
“You take that and you learn from it and you try and make sure you don’t do the same mistakes as your parents,” William notes. “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 of Wales also cites the memory of how constant media attention affected his family when he was young. It’s another thing that he and Kate attempt to mitigate with their own children.
“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, I’ll fight against,” William adds.
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One way the family keeps out the pressures of public scrutiny is that none of the Wales children have cell phones. So, what do they do for fun?
“Louis loves the trampoline, he’s obsessed with trampolining, and actually, Charlotte does a lot as well,” William shares. “As far as I can tell, they just 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… George loves his football and his hockey,” the proud dad continues. “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.”
