Prince William is revealing how his parents’ failed marriage has influenced him as a husband and father.
“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,” the Prince of Wales, 43, said in an episode of Eugene Levy’s Apple TV+ series The Reluctant Traveler released on Friday, October 3, while reflecting on his father King Charles’ marriage to his late mother, Princess Diana.
“That all has to be there, and that was certainly part of my childhood,” William recalled. “My parents got divorced at 8, so that lasted a short period of time.”
Charles, 76, and Diana had an infamously tumultuous relationship. The pair married on July 29, 1981, but it was Charles’ long-term affair with Camilla Parker Bowles (whom he married in April 2005) that contributed to the degradation of their relationship. The pair divorced in August 1996, one year before Diana’s unexpected death in 1997 at age 36.
“You take that and you learn from it and you try and make sure you don’t do the same mistakes as your parent,” William said, referring to his role as dad to his children Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, who he shares with his wife, Kate Middleton. “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.”
The Prince of Wales also pointed to another source of discord for his family: intense media attention and speculation.
Prince William and Kate Middleton Kirsty Wigglesworth – WPA Pool/Getty Images
“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 explained. “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 added: “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.”
Elsewhere in the interview, William admitted that he and Kate, 43, are pretty strict parents — and they always make sure to eat meals together.
After Levy, 78, asked if the family sits “down at the dinner table together,” William answered, “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.”
Instead, he added, the kids have other hobbies.
“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.”
