Prince William spoke candidly about his family and royal life on ‘The Reluctant Traveler.’ Here are 7 of the most surprising things he said.

• Prince William appeared on Eugene Levy’s Apple TV+ series “The Reluctant Traveler.”
• William gave Levy a tour of Windsor Castle and opened up to him about his life as a royal.
• William also spoke about how he’s raising his children and his vision for his reign as monarch.

Did you have Prince William giving one of the most candid interviews of his career to Eugene Levy on your bingo card?

Neither did we, but that’s exactly what happened when the Prince of Wales appeared on Levy’s Apple TV+ series “The Reluctant Traveler.”

In episode four of season three, which aired on Friday, William gave Levy a tour of Windsor Castle, and the pair chatted over a drink at a pub in the area. During their conversation, William opened up to Levy about his royal life, chatting about how he and Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, parent their children and how his wife and father’s health problems have affected him.

Take a look at the most surprising things Prince William said on “The Reluctant Traveler.”

William revealed that he struggles to be on time for things.

William met Levy on the grounds of Windsor Castle, rolling up to the palace on his scooter.

As they greeted each other, William explained to Levy that he and his family live on the castle grounds but not in the castle itself. He also shared that rather than walking, he often uses his scooter to get around the grounds for some additional speed because he’s often tardy.

“I’m always late, so I thought this was the way to keep my meetings on time,” he said. “But I’m still regularly late, Eugene, anyway.”

William said it was tricky to be close to his grandparents when he was a child.

As they toured the castle, William pointed to Eton College through a window, sharing with Levy that he visited his grandparents on weekends and some evenings when he was a student there as a teen.

Levy asked if William “had a great relationship” with his grandmother, and William responded that he “had a good relationship” with Queen Elizabeth.

“My grandparents were of a different generation,” he said. “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,” he told Levy. “I definitely think my relationship was best with my grandparents when they were more in their sort of 80s, when they had sort of relaxed a bit.”

William said he tries to orient his days around his children’s schedules.

Levy asked William if his work life offers a 9-to-5 schedule, and he said no. However, William and Kate try to coordinate their workdays with their children’s lives. They have three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

“I do try and stick to school timetables as best as possible,” he said. “So, most days we’re in and out of school doing pick-ups and drop-off.”

William told Levy that “getting the balance of work and family life right is really important” to him.

“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,” he said.

“It’s about making sure that we can look after our families, look after our children, in a way that we feel is best for their future,” William added.

William and Kate don’t let their children have phones.

As he chatted with Levy about parenting, William also revealed that his kids aren’t allowed to have cellphones.

“None of our children have any phones, which we’re very strict about,” William said. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also keep their children away from the internet, as they told Business Insider in April 2025 that they were “grateful” their children were too young for social media.

William said his children spend time outside and in extracurricular activities instead of spending time on devices.

“Keeping them busy with sports and just being outdoors is really important,” he said. “They’re trying to learn musical instruments.”

William said Charlotte, 10, participates in ballet and netball, while George, 12, enjoys football and hockey. Louis, 7, is an avid fan of the trampoline.

“Louis loves the trampoline,” William told Levy. “He’s obsessed by trampolining, and actually Charlotte does a lot as well.”

“As far as I can tell, they end up jumping up and down on the trampoline, beating each other up most of the time,” he added. “Apparently, there is an art to it.”

The prince told Levy that 2024 was the hardest year of his life.

When they sat down to have a drink at a pub, Levy asked William how King Charles and Kate are doing after both were diagnosed with cancer in 2024. Kate is in remission, but the king continues to undergo treatment for his illness.

“Things are good,” William said. “Everything is progressing in the right way, which is all good news.”

“But I’d say 2024 was the hardest year I’ve ever had,” he told Levy. “Trying to sort of balance protecting the children, Catherine, my father needs a bit of protection, but he’s old enough to do that himself as well.”

“But it’s important my family feel protected and have the space to kind of process a lot of the stuff that’s gone on last year,” William continued. “And that was tricky trying to do that and keep doing the job.”

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

William also opened up about his relationship with the media, saying it sometimes makes his life more difficult.

As they discussed his father and wife’s health, William also talked to Levy about his relationship with the media, saying the constant attention can make difficult times even harder.

“I enjoy my job, but sometimes there are aspects of it, such as the media, the speculation, the scrutiny, that make it a little bit harder than other jobs,” he said. “And it’s just making sure that 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.”

“And I think it’s also important because if you’re not careful, you can intrude so much into someone’s life that, actually, you start unpicking everything,” he said.

William told Levy that the media’s intrusion into King Charles and Princess Diana’s private lives harmed his family, which he doesn’t want for his children.

“Growing up, I saw that with my parents,” William said. “The media were so insatiable back then. 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. 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.”

“I take a very strong line about where I think that line is, and those who overstep it, you know, I’ll fight against,” he continued. “But equally, I understand, in my role, there is interest. You have to work with the media. They’re all there. You have to have a grown-up sort of situation with it as well. And it’s about knowing where the line is and what you’re willing to put up with.”

William revealed that he plans to make changes to the monarchy when he is king.

William is first in line for the throne and will become king the moment King Charles dies. When Levy inquired about what he envisions for his future as king, William said he doesn’t wake up thinking about becoming monarch daily, though he does keep it in the back of his mind.

“I take my roles and responsibilities seriously, but it’s important, like I said to you earlier, you don’t feel they own you,” he said. “You have to own them.”

William also said he wants to ensure he uses his power as monarch to help people when he takes the throne someday, mentioning Prince Harry for the first time in his conversations with Levy.

“I want to create a world in which my son is proud of what we do, and a world and a job that actually does impact people’s lives for the better,” he said. “That is caveated with, I hope we don’t go back to some of the practices in the past that, you know, 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.”

“It sounds like the monarchy will be shifting in a slightly different direction,” Levy responded.

“I think it’s safe to say that change is on my agenda,” William said. “Change for good. And I embrace that, and I enjoy that change. I don’t fear it. That’s the bit that excites me, is the idea of being able to bring some change. Not overly radical change — changes that I think need to happen.”

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