William’s manifesto for monarchy
The Royal Editor on the future King's very revealing TV appearance, plus men (and women) in grey suits.
A lighthearted travel show is a world away from the traditional sit-down interview we’ve seen members of the royal family take part in over the years.
And yet Prince William’s conversation with Eugene Levy, the Hollywood star and presenter of The Reluctant Traveler, has provided us with some of his most personal revelations ever.
The 43-minute episode, which sees the two men touring Windsor Castle, walking the Waleses’ dog Orla in the private gardens and enjoying a pint at the Two Brewers pub nearby, gives us a great insight into the future King’s thinking.
We hear about his home life with Catherine and Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis (lots of outdoor time, no mobile phones, fighting on the trampoline!).
We also see a vulnerability that the heir to the throne has perhaps not shown so freely in the past – the admission that family stress (notably the illness of his father and wife) “overwhelms” him and an expression of his determination to give his children the “feeling of safety, security, love” that ended for him when his parents’ marriage broke down.
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But perhaps most intriguingly, he sets out his vision for how he will approach his reign in future, saying: “I think it’s safe to say that change is on my agenda. 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, but changes that I think that need to happen.”
So just how far is he planning to go with this idea, and why is he telling us about it now?