Prince William reflects on lessons from King Charles' parenting

Prince William has shared rare personal insights into his upbringing with Prince Harry as he spoke about choosing a different path as he raises his own children.

Speaking in a new episode of The Reluctant Traveller With Eugene Levy, the Prince of Wales reflected on his experiences growing up in the royal spotlight and how they’ve shaped his approach to fatherhood.

During the chat, William hinted at challenges he and Harry, the Duke of Sussex, faced while growing up without going into much details.

But he added that he does not want to avoid repeating certain patterns from the past, saying he will “avoid the mistakes” of the past, seemingly referring to King Charles’ parenting style.

William said, “I want to create a world in which my son [Prince George] is proud of what we do, a world and a job that actually does impact people’s lives for the better.”

Mentioning Harry for the first in a long while, he continued, “That is caveated with, 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.”

“I think it’s safe to say that change is on my agenda. Change for good. And I embrace that and I enjoy that change - I don’t fear it.

“That’s the bit that excites me, is the idea of being able to bring some change. Not overly radical change, but changes that I think need to happen.”

The Prince of Wales further said, “I think if you’re not careful, history can be a real weight and an anchor around you, and you can feel suffocated by it, and restricted by it too much.”

“And I think it’s important to live for the here and now. I think if you’re too intrinsically attached to the history, you can’t possibly have any flexibility, because you worry that the chess pieces move too much and therefore no change will happen - and I like a little bit of change.”