Prince William is looking to change the monarchy in the future, and it all boils down to making his son, and future king, Prince George “proud.”
The Prince of Wales, 43, opened up about his and George’s roles as prospective monarchs, telling Eugene Levy during the Friday, October 3, episode of the Apple TV+ series The Reluctant Traveler that “change is on my agenda.”
“Change for good,” he clarified. “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, but changes that I think that need to happen.”
When asked how he feels about George, 12, one day becoming king, William was honest in his response.
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“It’s an interesting question, and it’s a big question, that one,” he told Levy, 78, while sitting in a pub. “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. 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 mentioning his brother, Prince Harry, is a big deal, as the pair are still estranged following Harry and wife Meghan Markle’s decision to step down as senior members of the royal family in 2020. (They now live in California with their children, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4.)
Although their brotherhood has been tested as of late, William told Levy that, when it comes to his royal life, it’s the “worry or stress around the family side of things that does overwhelm me quite a bit.”
He said, “When it’s to do with family and things like that, then that’s where I start getting a bit overwhelmed — as I think most people would, because it’s more personal, it’s more about feeling, it’s more about upsetting the rhythm, if you like.”
The Prince of Wales — who also shares daughter Princess Charlotte, 10, and son Prince Louis, 7, with wife Princess Kate Middleton — expanded on the hardest part of being the heir apparent to the British throne while discussing the recent cancer battles of Kate, 43, and his father, King Charles III.
“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,” William told Levy. “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.”
He continued, “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. And, growing up, I saw that with my parents.”
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Charles, 76, and Princess Diana were married from 1981 to 1996 before a very public divorce. Diana died in August 1997 at the age of 36 following a car crash. Charles then married now-Queen Camilla.
William said he works to silence outside noise as much as possible when it comes to his own family.
“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,” he told Levy. “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 went on to say that he understands the public’s interest in the royals and accepts the responsibility as a future king. However, it’s not top of his mind to please everyone.
“It’s not something I wake up in the morning and think about,” he said of becoming king one day. “Because, to me, being authentic and being myself and being genuine is what drives me. And then you can attach whatever labels and kind of roles that come on top of that, but if I’m not true to myself, and I’m not true to what I stand for and believe in, then it doesn’t really matter who you are — it gets lost. I take my roles and my responsibilities seriously, but it’s important, like I said to you earlier, you don’t feel they own you — you have to own them.”
