Prince William got candid about his parents King Charles and Princess Diana’s split while making a rare comment about their divorce.
During the Friday, October 3, episode of Eugene Levy‘s Apple TV+ series, The Reluctant Traveler, William, 43, explained that part of his agenda when he eventually becomes king will be to create “change for good.”
However, he admitted that the focus in his home life with his wife, Princess Kate Middleton, and their three children — Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7 — is all about stability.
After Levy, 78, asked William to elaborate on his thoughts about a “relatively normal home life,” he said the desire “definitely” started with Diana. “I think it’s really important that that atmosphere is created at home,” he said. “You have to have that warmth, that feeling of safety, security, love.”
“That all has to be there, and that was certainly part of my childhood,” he added before noting that his family eventually experienced a major change when Charles, 76, and Diana’s split. “My parents got divorced at 8, so that lasted a short period of time.”
Diana and Charles got married on July 29, 1981. Their relationship quickly became strained due to infidelity on both sides, including Charles’ affair with his now-wife, Camilla Parker Bowles. After they welcomed William in 1982 and Prince Harry in 1984, the couple announced their separation in 1992. They went on to have a messy divorce that wasn’t finalized until 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 told Levy. “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.”
William went on to explain that the media attention regarding his family has further influenced him and Middleton, 43, to make sure their kids have as normal lives as possible.
“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,” he said. “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 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.”
In addition to dealing with his royal duties, William has had to make his family his top priority after Middleton and Charles were both diagnosed with cancer.
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“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 said. “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.”
William went on to note that we “all have challenges that come our way and it’s important to keep going.”
“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 added. “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.”