Prince William just gave his most candid interview. One comment lands like a message to his brother.

Prince William has reflected on his family troubles, the media pressure and the dual cancer diagnoses of his wife and father, calling 2024 the "hardest year" of his life.

The rare admissions came during a conversation with Eugene Levy for his Apple TV+ series, The Reluctant Traveler, filmed at a pub in Windsor.

The royal rolled in on a scooter to meet the Schitt's Creek star. Because in case you were wondering, he's not like a regular Prince — he's a cool Prince.

Watch Prince William arrive to the interview via scooter. Post continues after video.

In one of the most candid conversations ever aired by the Prince of Wales, he spoke about how traumatising 2024 turned out to be for his family, with King Charles and Princess Catherine both announcing a cancer diagnosis: Charles in February 2024 and the Princess of Wales the next month.

"You never think it will happen to you," William shared.

"When you suddenly realise that the… metaphorical rug can be pulled from under your feet quite quick at any point. You maybe think to yourself, 'It won't happen to us, we'll be okay' — because I think everyone has a positive outlook, you've got to be positive. But when it does happen to you, then yeah, it takes you into some pretty… not great places."

It's been a difficult few years for the royal, who has had to endure both personal and professional controversies. We've rounded up the biggest takeaway from the interview.

Prince William on the pressure from media speculation about the British royal family.

Prince William opened up about the toll the tabloids have on him and his family.

"I enjoy my job, but sometimes there are aspects of it, such as the media, the speculation, the scrutiny, that make it a little bit harder than other jobs," he said.

"It's just making sure that doesn't overtake and intrude into areas at times when you just want a bit of space, and a bit of peace and quiet."

The 43-year-old opened up on how he's been shaped by growing up as the eldest son of the people's princess, Lady Diana, who died in a car accident while being chased by paparazzi when he was just 15 years old.

Princess Diana with her sons in 1995. Image: Getty.

"My parents got divorced [when I was 14]… you take that and you learn from it and you try and make sure you don't do the same mistakes as your parents. 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."

But it was one comment on the impact of media speculation before Diana's death that struck me as having a larger meaning.

"If you're not careful, you can intrude so much into someone's life that actually you start unpicking everything. And growing up, I saw that with my parents. The media were so insatiable back then… 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 said.

William's next comment sounded a lot like a coded message to his brother, Prince Harry, who he has reportedly been estranged from for several years.

"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, you know, I'll fight against," he said.

In recent years, Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have been vocal critics of the royal family, sharing intimate details of their experiences with Oprah Winfrey, making a Netflix documentary, publishing a tell-all memoir, Spare, and doing a handful of interviews.

Harry and Meghan have had a lot to say. Image: Netflix.

More recently, Harry has gotten more involved in tabloid fodder, becoming increasingly outspoken to refute media stories about him.

Could this be an example of what William considers 'overstepping' what the public knows about the royals?

For a family known for keeping tight-lipped about what goes on behind the scenes, Harry and Meghan's wide-ranging admissions have rocked the family and fractured relationships.

In September 2025, Harry and his father, King Charles, met for tea at Clarence House in London, but there has reportedly been no contact between the royal brothers.

Harry and William have not been photographed together for three years, with their last public appearance being at Queen Elizabeth's funeral.

When discussing his future gig as King, William made another interesting remark about 'family stresses' that have left him overwhelmed.

"Worry or stress around the family side of things, that does overwhelm me quite a bit. But in terms of doing the job [of King] and things like that, I don't feel too overwhelmed by that."

Prince William on how his family coped with Princess Catherine's cancer diagnosis.

After Princess Catherine completed chemotherapy treatment, she shared in January 2025 that she was in remission.

William gave a further update on his wife's current health.

"Things are good. Everything's progressing in the right way, but it's been, I'd say 2024 was the hardest year that I've ever had," William said.

"Trying to sort of balance protecting the children, Catherine, my father needs a bit of protection, but he's… he's old enough to do that himself as well. But it's important that my family feel protected and have the space to process a lot of the stuff that's gone on last year, and that was tricky trying to do that and keep doing the job.

"But you know, we all have challenges that come our way, and it's important to keep going."

Prince William and Princess Catherine attend Wimbledon 2025 with their kids, George and Charlotte. Image: Getty.

William shared some insights into how his family coped with Kate's cancer treatment.

"You know life is sent to test us as well, and it definitely can be challenging at times, and being able to overcome that is what makes us who we are. You know, I'm so proud of my wife and my father for how they've handled all of last year. My children have managed brilliantly as well," he said.

Prince William offered a glimpse into how he and Princess Kate helped their young children — George, 12, Charlotte, 10, and Louis, seven — come to terms with her diagnosis.

"We're a very open family, so we talk about things that bother us and things that trouble us, but you never quite know the knock-on effects that it can have. And so, it's just important to be there for each other and to kind of reassure the children that everything is okay."

Prince William shares a snapshot of their domestic family life.

Thankfully, the interview wasn't all about family trauma and health struggles; William did share some sweet traditions he has with his kids — including school drop-off duties.

"I do try and stick to school timetables as best as possible. So, most days we're in and out of school doing pickups and drop-offs. Getting the balance of work and family life right is really important. Because for me, the most important thing in my life is family," he said.

Princess Catherine and Prince William with their children on Christmas in 2023. Image: Getty.

William then made a pointed comment about how his turbulent childhood may have impacted him as an adult.

"If you don't start the children off now with a happy, healthy, stable home, I feel you're setting them up for a bit of a hard time and a fall. And so, it's about making sure that we can look after our families, look after our children, in a way that is best for their future."

Prince William revealed that his family eats dinner each night together and enforces a strict "no phones" rule for the children.

He also shared the kids' favourite hobbies: Prince Louis is "obsessed" with trampolining, Charlotte loves netball, ballet, and trampolining, while George is a keen soccer and hockey player. He also admitted that the children are "trying to learn musical instruments."

When asked how he feels about his son, Prince George, being a future King, he said he hopes to leave the monarchy in a better place than he found it for his son.

"I want to create a world in which my son is proud of what we do, a world and a job that actually does impact people's lives for the better," he said.

"I hope we don't go back to some of the practices in the past that Harry and I had to grow up in — and I'll do everything I can to make sure we don't regress in that situation."

He noted that he would make some changes before George follows in his footsteps.

"Not overly radical… but change that needs to happen."

Feature image: Getty.