With each Monarch, their reign is slightly different from their predecessors – from Elizabeth II undertaking walkabouts during overseas visits to Charles III leading a slimmed down Monarchy.
Now, Prince William has offered a rare insight into how he envisions his own reign when the time comes.
In a candid conversation with actor Eugene Levy for an AppleTV series, The Prince of Wales opened up during a tour of Windsor Castle, reflecting on family life, the health of his wife and father, and the responsibilities that await him as future King.
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William spoke about the future of the Monarchy in a candid interview. (Kensington Palace)
While William admits he does not wake each morning thinking about becoming King, he made it clear that his reign will not be a carbon copy of the past.
‘I think it’s safe to say that change is on my agenda,’ he said. ‘Change for good. And I embrace that and I enjoy that change – I don’t fear it. That’s the bit that excites me, the idea of being able to bring some change. Not overly radical change, but changes that I think need to happen.’
The Prince also touched on what it means to prepare his eldest son, Prince George, for the throne with the Canadian actor.
‘It’s an interesting question and it’s a big question that one. Because there are lots of things to think about with that’ William reflected. ‘But obviously, 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.’
William also made a rare mention of his younger brother, Prince Harry, noting their shared experiences of childhood pressures.
‘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.’
As he looks to the future, William emphasised his desire to honour tradition while adapting to modern realities.
‘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,’ he explained. ‘And I think it’s important to live, for the here and now.’
For the father of three, that means asking difficult but necessary questions: ‘I want to question things more. I think it’s very important that tradition stays, and tradition has a huge part in all of this, but there’s also points where you look at tradition and go, “Is that still fit for purpose today? Is that still the right thing to do? Are we still doing and having the most impact we could be having?”
‘So, I like to question things is what I’m really getting at.’
The Apple TV+ series, The Reluctant Traveler, is available to stream now in the UK, where he ticks off items from his bucket list; William features in episode ‘Living The Royal Life In The UK’.
The topics were not all serious however – the Royal spoke about his life as a father and husband, joking that ‘sleep’ is what he does when he’s at home, and sharing a pint in a pub just a stone’s throw from the castle (cider for William, Guinness for Eugene).
