He discussed his family life and his hopes for change within the monarchy

rince William has shared an unprecedented glimpse into his life at home with his wife, Kate Middleton, in an episode of Eugene Levy’s Apple TV+ series, The Reluctant Traveler.

Joined by actor Eugene, Prince William opened up about his work and personal life in a very detailed interview. It was here that he also gave a fresh insight into Princess Kate’s cancer recovery journey.

The Prince of Wales gave Schitt’s Creek actor Eugene a tour around Windsor Castle and Eugene likely got even more than he bargained for.

Not only was he guided around one of the most stunning royal estates by the future king himself, but Wills also shed light on what life has been like for him recently.

Here are some of the biggest revelations William made about his family…

Prince William discussed his home life (Credit: Apple TV+)

Prince William’s revelations in The Reluctant Traveler interview

Prince William shared just how his beloved wife Kate, Princess of Wales, and his children have been fairing following her cancer treatment journey, as well as his feelings on the king’s shock cancer diagnosis.

He assured Eugene that Kate’s recovery has been “progressing in the right way” and “everything is good”. But, he admitted that 2024 was a tough time for himself and his close circle.

“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,” he stated.

“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 we all have challenges that come our way and it’s important to keep going.”

Prince William opens up about Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis

William detailed just how Charles and Kate’s cancer diagnoses affected him, but also how his family have been lucky with their health and longevity.

He said: “We’ve been very lucky. We hadn’t had many illnesses in the family for a very long time. My grandparents lived until they were in the high nineties.”

“They were the vision of fitness, and stoicism, and resilience, if you like. So we’ve been very lucky as a family,” Prince William continued. “But I think, when you suddenly realise that the rug, if you were, the metaphorical rug, can be pulled from under your feet quite quick at any point.”

“You maybe think to yourself, ‘It won’t happen to us, we’ll be okay.’ Because I think everyone has a positive outlook, you’ve got to be positive,” he added. “But when it does happen to you, then it takes you into some pretty not great places.”

Prince William got very candid about Kate’s recovery (Credit: Apple TV+)

Prince William discusses impact on George, Charlotte and Louis

William went on to share how his and Kate’s three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, have coped with their mother’s illness.

“Everyone has their own coping mechanisms for these sorts 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,” he explained as he gave an insight into their home life.

“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. It’s just important to be there for each other and to kind of reassure the children that everything is okay.”

The prince also assured, because of this, he is keen to praise his loved ones.

How George, Charlotte and Louis ‘managed’ Kate’s cancer

The future king said: “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. You know, I’m so proud of my wife and my father, for how they’ve handled all of last year. My children have managed brilliantly as well.”

Prince William went on to address how he tackles preparing his eldest son, George, for his future role as monarch.

Eugene asked William how he feels about George one day becoming king. To this, William responded: “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.”

William opened up about his family in the TV interview (Credit: Cover Images)

Prince George’s future

Although preparing George, 12, for the throne is a large focus, William also insisted that his priority is his family and not his own future role as king.

In another part of the episode, he acknowledged that it is “really important” that he strikes the right balance of work and family life.

He explained: “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.”

This also includes protecting his family from the spotlight. Especially potential invasions of their privacy.

William expressed the importance of family life (Credit: Apple TV+)

Prince William’s vow to protect his family

Discussing the media scrutiny surrounding his parents, Charles and Diana, in the 90s, he said: “It’s hard to think of it now, but they were much more insatiable. And they wanted every bit of detail they could absorb, and they were in everything, literally everywhere. They would know things, they’d be everywhere.”

Because of this, William has made a promise to protect his family in any way he can.

He continued: “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.”

Strict rule the Prince and Princess of Wales have for their children

The future king also touched on the rules he has in place to protect his children, as well as what they enjoy getting up to in their free time.

Eugene asked the prince if they all sit down at the table to eat dinner together. William said: “Yep absolutely, yep definitely. So, we sit and chat, it’s really important. None of our children have any phones, which we’re very strict about.”

Eugene then asked what the royal children love doing.

William revealed: “So, Louis loves the trampoline, so he’s obsessed by trampolining and actually Charlotte does a lot as well. 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 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.”

William also discussed his wider family and admitted how he misses his late grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

The queen died in September 2022, just 18 months after her husband.

William opened up about missing his grandparents (Credit: Apple TV+)

William opens up about missing Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in heartfelt interview

Whilst guiding Eugene around the Windsor estate, where the queen is buried, William opened up about his feelings for his late grandparents.

He admitted: “I do miss my grandmother, and my grandfather. It’s been quite a bit of change, so you do sort of, you think about them not being here anymore, and particularly being in Windsor, for me Windsor is her.

“She loved it here, she spent most of her time here. Showing you around today is very much a case of trying to make sure I’m doing it in the way she’d want you to see it. She had her horses here as well, as you can imagine that was a big deal for her so that’s why she loved it here.”

William even opened up about his personal bond with his grandparents.

The prince said: “My grandparents were of a different generation. 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.”

The full episode is available on Apple+ TV, where William gives us a candid view into his life. Are you going to watch?