Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton’s children may be royalty but don’t think they’re overindulged in every aspect of life.
During episode 4 of Eugene Levy’s Apple TV+ series, The Reluctant Traveler — which will be released on Friday, October 3 — the Prince of Wales, 43, spoke to the actor about his family and what they prioritize at home. According to William, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, are not allowed to have cell phones.
“Do you all sit down at the dinner table together,” Levy, 78, asked, to which William responded, “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.”
Levy seemed surprised by the comment, asking William what his children play with if not smartphones.
“Louis loves the trampoline, so he’s obsessed with trampolining and, actually, Charlotte does a lot as well,” William said. “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.”
While on a tour of Windsor Castle, William also told Levy that he sometimes takes the kids to St George’s Hall to run around “after hours.”
“My cousins and I, and the family, would chase each other up and down here and do silly games,” he said while in the space. “And I remember these carpets weren’t here, and there were a couple of spots where you used to have to watch out because you’d get massive splinters because the old floor was old wood … It was a really dark wooden oak floor. So, when you went running off, you’d end up coming away and you’d have an enormous splinter.”
William showed the size of one of the splinters with his hands before explaining, “And everyone would be like, ‘Stop! Stop!’ And someone had a splinter sort of that big in their foot.”
He added, “So now, it’s a lot easier. My children don’t realize how lucky they are, they’ve got a big old carpet they can run down and there’s no splinters. We come in after hours and chase each other around sometimes.”
William said family is “the most important thing” in his life, despite his position as the heir apparent to the British throne. Picking up and dropping off his kids at school is as paramount as attending a royal outing.
“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,” he told Levy. “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.”
Levy mentioned that William and his brother, Prince Harry, seemingly had a “relatively normal home life” with their mother, the late Princess Diana, who died following a car crash in August 1997.
“Yes definitely,” William agreed. “I think it’s really important that that atmosphere is created at home. 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. My parents got divorced at 8, so that lasted a short period of time. But, you take that and you learn from it and you try and make sure you don’t do the same mistakes as your parents.”
He continued, “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.”
Amid his reportedly estranged relationship with Harry, 41, William said that anything to do with family “overwhelms” him “quite a bit.”
“But in terms of, you know, doing the job and things like that, I don’t feel too overwhelmed by that. Not now anyway,” he said. “When I was younger, yeah, there are bits that overwhelm you, a bit like, ‘Wow, are we actually doing this? Is this sort of happening?’ But with time and age, I think you feel a bit more settled.”
He added, “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.”
William also spoke about King Charles III and Kate’s recent cancer battles and how George, Charlotte and Louis have coped with their diagnoses, treatments and Kate’s remission.
“Everyone has their own coping mechanisms for these sorts of things, and children are constantly learning and adapting,” William said. “We try to make sure we give them the security and the safety that they need. And 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 OK.”
For now, William said “things are good” with Kate’s recovery and “everything is progressing the right way.” (She announced her cancer was in remission in January.)
“I’d say 2024 was the hardest year that I’ve ever had,” the Prince of Wales 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.”