Prince William is looking back at the “hardest year” of his life, when both his wife, Kate Middleton, and his father, King Charles III, were diagnosed with cancer in 2024.
Over a pint at a pub in Windsor, William spoke with Eugene Levy about the emotional toll of the dual diagnosis, while appearing on an episode of Levy’s Apple TV+ show The Reluctant Traveler, which airs Friday. “You never think it will happen to you,” the Prince of Wales said.
“When you suddenly realize that 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. But when it does happen to you, then yeah, it takes you into some pretty, you know, not great places,” he said.
However, William insisted that he remains an optimist and stressed how proud he is of his family.
“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 and Princess Kate are parents to Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7. During the interview, William revealed he and Kate did everything they could to reassure their children in the wake of their mother’s diagnosis. “We try to make sure we give them the security and the safety that they need.… 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.”
In September 2024, Princess Kate announced that she had completed chemotherapy treatment, and in January 2025, she shared she was in remission.
“Things are good. Everything’s progressing in the right way, but it’s been, I’d say 2024 was the hardest year that I’ve ever had,” William shared. “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. 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.”
In the wide-ranging interview, William discussed balancing his family with his royal duties and his struggle with the intense media speculation of his private life.
“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.”
Clearly hands-on as a father, William described how his work day, which is not a typical 9-to-5, is scheduled around his family life as much as possible.
“I do try and stick to school timetables as best as possible. So, most days we’re in and out of school doing pickups and drop-offs. Getting the balance of work and family life right is really important. 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. And so, it’s about making sure that we can look after our families, look after our children, in a way that is best for their future.”
When speaking about his family’s privacy, William noted the struggles he faced during his own childhood, when the press speculated about every element of his parents’ lives, marriage, and breakup. “If you’re not careful, you can intrude so much into someone’s life that actually you start unpicking everything. And growing up, I saw that with my parents. The media were so insatiable back then—it’s hard to think of it now, but they were much more insatiable. They wanted every bit of detail they could absorb, and they were in everything, literally everywhere. They would know things, they’d be everywhere,” he said. “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.”
William revealed that as a child of divorce, he was determined not to make the same mistakes as his parents and learn from the past.
“My parents got divorced [when I was 14]…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.”
And while he reflected on the past, he said that he is forward-looking and optimistic, adding that “everything is about the future” and looking after their children, who he joked are “beating each other up most of the time.”
Speaking about his home life, Prince William shared that the family sits down for dinner and “that none of the kids have phones, which we’re very strict about.” William also said that Prince Louis is “obsessed” with trampolining—as is Charlotte, who also loves netball and ballet, while George is a keen soccer and hockey player.
Being outside is “very important” to them as a family. He added that the children are “trying to learn musical instruments.”
The Prince of Wales also touched on his future as monarch. “It’s not something I wake up in the morning and think about, because to me, being authentic and being myself, and being genuine is what drives me,” he said, before adding that he does consider the role he must play in ensuring that the monarchy is an institution fit for the future. “I take my roles and responsibilities seriously.”
But he revealed that family stresses over his future destiny can overwhelm him. “You know, worry or stress around the family side of things, that does overwhelm me quite a bit. But in terms of, you know, doing the job and things like that, I don’t feel too overwhelmed by that.”
When Levy asked what he thinks about George one day becoming king, William said, “There’s lots of things to think about.” He added, “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 said that change is on his agenda: “Change for good. Not overly radical…but change that needs to happen.”
He also spoke about his relationship with his grandparents, the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, reminiscing about how he often visited the queen for tea and raced through the castle’s corridors as a young boy.
“I do miss my grandmother, and my grandfather.… I had a good relationship. 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. When they’d sort of relaxed a little bit. My grandfather was incredibly amusing, sometimes not deliberately, sometimes by accident. We had a lot of laughs, and he had a great sense of humor, as did my grandmother as well, actually.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Prince William is seen riding around the Windsor estate on an electric scooter and taking the Schitt’s Creek creator and actor on a dog walk with the family’s cocker spaniel, Orla, which Levy described as “surreal.” William, who revealed he was a fan of American Pie (1999), the film that propelled Levy to fame, had written to the actor inviting him to visit Windsor Castle for a private tour.
“Prince William was an exceptionally gracious host, and I was so impressed with how at ease he made me feel. A smart young man with a great sense of humor. And to think I just ticked him off my bucket list,” Levy said.
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