As part of a two-day tour of the West Country, The Prince of Wales visited the Isles of Scilly on Friday, to visit initiatives funded by the Duchy of Cornwall.
Prince William joined one of the UK’s popular breakfast radio shows, Heart Breakfast, with hosts Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston, for an engaging discussion spanning everything from sustainable housing in Scilly, The Princess of Wales’ Italy trip, to being an Aston Villa fan and even his music preferences!
He shared with Amanda and Jamie that he visited the Isles of Scilly often when he was younger, brought by his parents: ‘It is as you can see a place like no other. It’s kind of a different world down here. It’s beautiful.’
Before diving into discussion on the Duchy of Cornwall’s impact, the Prince shared that his children were listening in and had a message for them: ‘Charlotte and Lou, if you’re listening, make sure you’re on time, please. Make sure you’re not fighting over who’s listening to what this morning!’
His words also shared that Prince George has already begun to board at school; the young Royal is due to move to secondary school in September, with many suspecting he will go to Eton, a stone’s throw from Windsor and the family home at Forest Lodge.
William touched briefly on the topic of chaotic school runs, with Louis often leaving jam fingerprints on the car, thanks to ‘a lot of jam sandwiches taken in the car’, and that he is ‘definitely not a morning person’.
St. Mary’s new hospital wing
Due to the isles’ isolated location, 28 miles of the most-south westerly tip of mainland Britain, the NHS has historically found it difficult to expand in the region. William shared that the Duchy of Cornwall’s work has ‘done everything we can to allow that to happen,’ in order to better expand services available.
The Duchy is a major landholder in the isles, and across its portfolio collects land income from hospitals, schools and other public services.
He shared how the new hospital wing would improve and increase medical care for local residents, who often have to travel to the mainland for long-term, sustainable care: ‘I’m really looking forward to seeing how the hospital has expanded. They have maternity services here now and more social care. I’m looking forward to seeing all the NHS staff who do a wonderful job down here. You can imagine all the conditions they have to manage.’
The future King shared one story of a mother who had gone into labour, but had to go to the mainland to give birth. The air ambulance had picked her up to facilitate a speedy journey, but everything happened too quickly: the baby was born while in the air! The only example of this ever happening.
Housing for essential workers
It was announced in September 2025 that ten sustainably-built houses would be constructed, funded by the Duchy of Cornwall, a continued effort to invest in the Isle of Scilly.
William also spoke about the newly developed housing, strengthening support for residents: ‘I’m going to see some housing that we’ve opened for essential workers, there hasn’t been housing built here for 30 years, on the scale we’re doing.’
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Aimed at essential workers, the new housing aims to tackle the shortage Scilly faces due to a high number of abandoned properties in rural areas and high rents in cities.
Given homelessness is a key part of William’s royal work, as well as supporting frontline workers, it seems to demonstrate his walking the walk.
Praise for Catherine’s return to work
When asked about the difficulties the family faced due to The Princess of Wales’ recent cancer journey, William shared that, ‘she’s an amazing mum, an amazing wife, and literally our family couldn’t cope without her. So she’s been brilliant.’
He praised her return to work, with Kate recently visiting the Italian city of Reggio Emilia to learn more about their child-centred approach to education.
Her first international trip in three years, more international work could be on the horizon for the Princess. But William cautioned: ‘away trips like that take a lot out of you because you’re on sort of permanent receive and send the whole time. And so, we have to balance that. Make sure she’s she’s okay and rested.’
During the wide-ranging conversation, the Prince called his wife a ‘proper pro on early years’ and that she is so involved in the work. ‘She spends God knows how much time now looking through all the paperwork!’
William the Aston Villa fan
A keen Aston Villa fan, the Prince was spotted watching his team win the UEFA Europa League championship. in Turkey.
Joined by his friends, William was photographed cheering his team on. He shared that he’d been a fan most of his life and when asked why he was a fan, he told Amanda and Jamie, that it was, ‘childhood friends of mine that took me to my first Villa game in 2000’.
Two decades later, William is still a big supporter: ‘The whole club just felt fantastic. It connected with me. Values as well. It’s an old English club and I thought that was fantastic.’
His eldest son, George, is also an Aston Villa fan, with the two being seen together supporting the team over the years.
William reveals his music preference
Before ending the interview, it was only correct that William was asked about his music preference while on the radio.
While he didn’t share specific artists, he has a preference for motivational and dance music, as opposed to sad music.
‘I find music for me is so personal to how you’re feeling…so, it’s almost like saying to me “who’s your favourite person in the world?”. I just can’t answer that.’
Before ending the interview, Amanda joked: ‘our boss has been listening. He’s offered you your own show,’ to which William replied, ‘If you want it, I’ll do contractual arrangements off air!’
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The radio show began a day of engagements, including visiting the local hospital to open a new facility, naming the islands’ new pilot boat, viewing new, sustainable homes, and seeing how the community was recovering following January’s Storm Goretti.
This trip to the Isles of Scilly highlights William’s continued work to create lasting positive change and impact through the Duchy of Cornwall – in addition to a more transparent approach to his finances.
