Prince William says telling his children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis about their mother Duchess Kate’s cancer was a “balancing act”.
The Prince of Wales described the “challenging” process to Brazilian TV presenter Luciano Huck during his trip to the Earthshot Awards last week.
“I think how you deal with those issues is very personal and in some ways moment-dependent,” William said in an interview shared on Instagram over the weekend.
Mr. William and Mr. Middleton reflected on the roundtable discussion, saying, “We decided to communicate more” with their children.
“There are good and bad sides to that,” the 43-year-old prince explained. “Sometimes I feel like I share too much (stuff) with my kids that I shouldn’t.”
However, he clarified that “most of the time, hiding something from them doesn’t work. . . . There are no answers, but more questions arise.”
William and Middleton, 43, spoke candidly about “everything”, including “good news and bad news”, to ease their children’s “anxieties”.
“It’s always a balancing act. Any parent knows that: ‘How much to say, what to say, and when to say it.'”
“There is no manual for parenthood,” the future king continued. “You just have to follow it, a little bit instinctively.”
Middleton announced her cancer diagnosis in March 2024, two months after she retired from royal duties after being hospitalized for abdominal surgery.
At the time, the Princess of Wales spoke about breaking the news to her children George, 12, Charlotte, 10, and Louis, seven, in an “appropriate” way.
She told them, “I get better and stronger every day by focusing on things that help heal my mind, body, and spirit.”
Middleton said her delay in updating the world on her health was related to her “processing and managing” the news “in private” with her family.
In September 2024, the mother-of-three completed “incredibly grueling” cancer treatment.
Middleton announced in January of the following year that she was in remission and would “continue to focus on her recovery” as she adjusted to a “new normal.”
