Prince William has opened up about having the “most difficult year of my life” following his wife and father’s cancer diagnosis.
In a remarkably candid – and at times emotional – interview at the end of his official visit to South Africa, he admitted that the last few months had been “brutal”.
But the prince also said how enormously “proud” he was of Catherine and the King for handling his health battles with such dignity and bravery.
He added that the Princess of Wales was now “doing well”.
Speaking in Cape Town yesterday, the future king covered everything from his much-discussed beard – which apparently made his daughter Princess Charlotte cry when she first saw it – to his passion for “meaningful” royal jobs, such as his iconic Earthshot Prize environmental awards.
According to Prince William (pictured with his wife Catherine), he has had the most difficult year of his life.
The Prince said his year has been “terrible”, adding: “It’s probably been the hardest year of my life.” So trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.” (Pictured left to right: Prince Louis, Prince William, Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte and Prince George)
But it was his response to what the past year had been like for him as a husband, father and son that will move people the most.
Sighing lightly and lowering his voice, he said, ‘Honestly? It has been terrible. It was probably the hardest year of my life. So trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.
‘But I’m very proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things they’ve done.
“But from a personal and family standpoint, it’s been, yes, it’s been brutal.”
When asked how the princess was doing, he smiled and said, “She’s fine.” I’m doing well.’
William added of his relaxed demeanor in Cape Town this week: “It’s interesting that you say that, because I couldn’t be less relaxed this year, so it’s very interesting that you’re all seeing that.”
Earlier this week he praised Kate, who was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February and underwent “preventive chemotherapy” treatment, for having “been amazing this whole year.”
He recently revealed that he finished his chemotherapy treatment.
Catherine, Princess of Wales (pictured) revealed earlier this year that she had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer.
In a video posted in September (pictured) he revealed that he had finished his chemotherapy treatment.
His father, King Charles, was diagnosed with cancer after routine prostate surgery in January (although the two are not said to be related) and is still receiving weekly treatment, but has satisfied doctors with his progress.
William, 42, made it clear that he intends to continue carving a different path when it comes to his royal role and duties than that of this father and grandmother, at least for the time being.
He admitted he doesn’t necessarily like the extra responsibility that comes with his still relatively new role as Prince of Wales, but admits it has given him the time and freedom to build huge global initiatives like the Earthshot Prize and the opportunity to enable “significant” change. “.
“You mention extra responsibility and freedom in the same sentence,” he laughed.
It’s complicated. Do I like more responsibility? No.
‘Do I like the freedom of being able to build something like Earthshot? So yes.
‘And that’s the future for me. It is very important with my role and my platform, that I am doing something for good. “That I’m helping people’s lives and I’m doing something that’s genuinely meaningful.”
William spoke at a ‘seaweed innovators exhibition’ where he bought a pair of earrings made from ‘beach seaweed’ to take home to his wife.
William’s father King Charles (pictured with Queen Camilla in Samoa in October) was diagnosed with cancer after routine prostate surgery in January, although the two are not said to be related.
She was wearing a blue jacket that she had purchased from a local vintage store in London as part of her effort to wear as much recycled or sustainable clothing as possible during the week.
He says what many people don’t realize, or even don’t want to realize, is how much work it takes behind the scenes to pull together such a massive global initiative outside of the day-to-day public commitments in which he is seen.
‘So Earthshot is the culmination of all that together, if you like. But it takes a lot of work, and a lot of invisible things happen, a lot of meetings, a lot of people coming, a lot of chatting and phone calls, letters, all trying to make Earthshot work. to be the best possible entity,” he stated.
The prince’s ‘Green Oscars’ were born from his frustration at ‘global pessimism’ around climate change and the environmental crisis.
He decided that the best way to combat this was to help develop the most inspiring solutions to the biggest problems facing humanity.
Each year for a decade, five winners will each receive a £1 million prize and mentoring to expand their ideas.
This year’s participants range from a company that makes sneakers from biodegradable material to a new technology that captures waste heat and converts it into electricity.
William admitted that he may be frustrated by the slowness in getting people on board, but he feels that finally, four years later, he is finally seeing results.
“I would like it to be more of a team sport,” he said.
‘And then when you approach people… companies… or even government… and say, listen, we’re building something amazing. Please come aboard. Some people are extremely fast and enthusiastic. Others take a little longer and it is those people who take a little longer. I say, guys, we just don’t have time.
“So yeah, I’m a little frustrated that it takes a long time to convince people that this is worth their attention. But I guess that’s the nature of a global environmental award: you’re starting from scratch and it’s going to take a bit of time. ‘
But he added that he was “really pleased” with the progress they had made so far and was “really excited” about the awards ceremony broadcast live on Wednesday.
According to Prince William, “from a personal and family point of view, it has been brutal”
For the first time they have taken place in Africa, a continent with which he has a special bond having retired there after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, and then proposing marriage to his wife.
William admitted he felt “emotional” about it, saying he was particularly affected by hearing Disney’s Lion King anthem, “Circle of Life,” sung by an African choir to open the ceremony.
‘Listening to the Circle of Life. “I don’t know about everyone else, but listening to the Lion King and stuff like that really gets me excited,” he admitted.
‘Then when they started singing and I saw the clips from the top of Table Mountain and we were all there and it happened. “I felt pretty excited.”
He said he wanted to translate the “impact” of such an amazing ceremony into increasing the visibility of the solutions it showcases.
‘So you have seen for yourself the scale of the solutions. I mean, they cover all sectors in all walks of life. Brilliant people, some just starting out, some are a little more established and have a little more money. But in general we are all doing a fantastic job in the same direction,” he said.
“I think the key for us is how to translate that into more impact, more scale and ultimately more progress in addressing environmental challenges.”
And the prince said that companies – and countries – should do more.
The Prince (pictured) has been in South Africa for the last week for his annual Earthshot Awards.
He said: ‘I definitely believe it. We are providing this incredible platform to all of them. And it really is an incredible platform for companies to come in and steal what they want.
‘But if we keep waiting… we’re going to keep consuming time that we simply don’t have.
‘And so my message to businesses is really: hurry up and be brave. Invest faster because we simply don’t have that time.”
The prince said he was not yet sure whether his children had been able to watch the ceremony on YouTube as he had not yet “connected with them” but said he hoped they would.
He will join them at home on Friday before returning to duty this weekend alongside his family at a series of commemorative events.
