He is a man born into centuries of tradition and imbued with duty – but is first and foremost a husband and father.
Time and again over the years, Prince William has made it clear that while he takes the burden of his future role as king and his current responsibilities as heir to the throne seriously, he will never put them ahead of his wife and family.
These qualities will be needed now, more than ever before.
William has always made it clear how proud he is of Kate, both personally and in the way she has embraced her role.
The Prince of Wales and Queen Camilla arrive for the annual Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey earlier this month
William is attending a meeting in Sheffield this week focusing on ending homelessness in the UK
Yes, not so long ago, while talking to me about his own work, he made a point of bringing her into the conversation, emphasizing how he would see her sitting in their lounge, night after night, poring over papers about her ground-breaking work with children’s early years.
It was quite clear that he wanted the world to know that she was his equal, and more.
And he has always stressed that it was Kate who was the mastermind behind their joint Heads Together campaign with Prince Harry to break the national stigma surrounding mental health.
But more importantly, I would suggest, it is the Princess’s grounded brilliance as a mother, and the joy and happiness that she and their family have brought him, that have irrevocably changed William’s life.
A child of a broken marriage and warring parents, he grew up in the white heat of the public eye. Kate’s stability, diligence and discretion have been just what he needed in a man.
I don’t think any of us can even begin to understand how difficult the last few months must have been for William.
Just to see what his wife has been through: the worry of a major stomach operation, the happy news that the operation was successful, and then the heart-stopping diagnosis that cancer had indeed been found.
Add to that his father’s own surgery and subsequent cancer diagnosis… well, that’s a heavy load for anyone to carry.
This week I accompanied William on a public engagement in Sheffield to highlight his Homewards project to end the scourge of homelessness in the UK.
Afterwards I wrote a comment in the Daily Mail about how he was in great form with everything he met, engaging, enthusiastic, passionate and knowledgeable.
But I also wrote about how, after covering the royal family for so long, you learn to read their body language, and it was clear to me that William was also a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
I couldn’t quite put my finger on exactly what it was, but there was a slight sadness around the eyes and, of course, a loss of weight.
How remarkable that he has even been able to do half of what he has undertaken publicly in recent months – even performing the investiture for his cancer-stricken father – given all that has been going on behind the scenes.
And even more remarkably, he spent the day working to see what he could do for others, knowing that the very next morning he would be in Windsor with his wife as she recorded a moving video message to reveal her cancer diagnosis and the couple’s private distress to the world.
It is also a sign of the solidity of their relationship that both they and their staff were at pains yesterday to emphasize that their children have been at the heart of everything they have done since January, despite the sometimes excruciatingly excruciating provocation , they have received. , especially on social media.
When aides briefed a small group of reporters, including myself, on the cancer news that they were about to break out into the world yesterday, there was not a single attempt to point out the gossip mongers who have caused the prince and princess so much distress in recent weeks.
That the couple have not publicly lambasted the trolls, and instead focused on their children and those who have found themselves in the same, terrifying position, shows what a class act they are.
Several of us asked if their statement had been issued now to counter these vultures.
And while it was made clear that they hoped the speculation would now stop, it was also emphasized that the announcement was largely made around the children.
I closed my earlier post this week to the Mail, revealing that I had been told that the couple had not completely ruled out making some kind of public statement in the coming weeks.
There was a lot William wanted to say, I said.
I added that it has been difficult for him to stand by and see his wife’s reputation torn apart by the court of public opinion in the way his late mother’s once was, noting that how he handles the situation going forward, for sure will be a sign of the King he will one day become.
I think we all know the answer to that now.
He is a man who knows his moral compass and what really matters to him. He has wider shoulders than anyone imagined.
These are qualities that we as a country will one day in the future be lucky to share.
