Prince William incorporates what he learned from his parents’ failed marriage into his relationship with Kate Middleton.
Prince of Wales reflected the mistakes of Charles III and the late Princess Diana in an episode of Eugene Levy’s Apple TV+ show The Recluctant Travelers, released on October 3rd.
“I think it’s really important that that atmosphere is created at home. You need to have that warmth, safety, safety and a sense of love,” William, 43, mentioned raising his three children along with Princess Welsh: Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7.
“It all had to be there, and it was certainly part of my childhood,” William added.
However, the heir to the British throne pointed out that the warm environment was only “long for a short period” as his parents divorced in 1996 when they were only eight years old. Their split was well known in reports of Charles’ long-term relationship with Camila Parker Bowles, whom the King married in 2005.
“You take it, you learn from it, and you try to make sure you don’t make the same mistake as your parents,” William said. “I think we’re all trying to do that.”
William understands that family drama can affect the development of his children.
“I just want to do the best for my kids, but I know that the drama and stress of being small when you’re small really affects you when you’re older,” he said.
William also believes that the tabloid attention surrounding his mom and dad had a major impact on their marriage.
“Growing up, I watched it with my parents. The media was very exhausting at the time. It’s hard to think about now, but it was far more insatiable,” William said. “They wanted every detail they could absorb. They were all literally everywhere. They knew things and they would be everywhere.”
William has learned that if he wants to nurture a loved one, he cannot deliver media pressure to him.
“If you let me sneak in, the damage it would do to your family life would never happen to my family what I swear to,” he said. “So I take a very strong line about where I think that line is, people trampling on it, I’ll fight.”
43-year-old William and Middleton run through the tough house and sit for dinner with their kids every night.
“We sit down and chat, that’s really important,” he said. It also revealed that children are not allowed to have cell phones.
“None of our kids have cell phones, but we’re very strict,” he said.
Instead, the little royals find other ways to entertain themselves.
While Charlotte enjoys netball and ballet, George loves soccer and hockey, and Little Louis likes to jump on the trampoline.
“Lewis loves trampolines, so he’s obsessed with trampolines and in fact Charlotte does a lot,” William said. “As far as I know, they mostly jump up and down on a trampoline and beat each other. Apparently, there’s art to it.”
In general, William thinks it’s good to make his children fall in love with sports and other outdoor activities.
“They are trying to learn instruments. I don’t know how successful we are with it,” laughs William.
