Prince William has characterized 2024 as “dreadful” and “probably the hardest year in my life,” addressing the impact of both his father’s and wife’s cancer diagnoses. The 42-year-old Prince of Wales shared these reflections during a Nov. 7 interview with reporters following his visit to Cape Town, South Africa, which centered on his Earthshot Prize.
“Honestly, it’s been dreadful,” he stated. “It’s probably been the hardest year in my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult. But I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal,” reports People.
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The royal family’s health challenges began in February when Buckingham Palace announced King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis. The following month, Catherine, Princess of Wales, revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy. On Sept. 9, Kate announced the completion of her treatment.
When questioned about Kate’s current condition, William confirmed she is “doing well.” Responding to observations about appearing relaxed, he countered, “I couldn’t be less relaxed this year, so it’s very interesting you’re all seeing that.” He added, “But it’s more a case of just crack on and you’ve got to keep going. I enjoy my work and I enjoy pacing myself and keeping sure that I have got time for my family, too.”
During the interview, William also discussed his role as Prince of Wales, which he assumed following Queen Elizabeth’s death on Sept. 8, 2022. When asked about increased responsibilities within the royal institution, he responded candidly, per People: “It’s a tricky one. Do I like more responsibility? No. Do I like the freedom that I can build something like Earthshot? Then yes. And that’s the future for me. It’s very important, with my role and my platform, that I’m doing something for good. That I’m helping people’s lives and I’m doing something that is genuinely meaningful.”
While the Prince of Wales admitted that he wasn’t sure if his children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, watched the Earthshot Prize Awards — which was streamed live on YouTube — he said: “I hope they did.” He also shared lighter family moments, including his daughter Charlotte’s initial reaction to his new beard: “Charlotte didn’t like it the first time. I got floods of tears, the first one I got tears, so I have to shave it off. And then I grew it back. I thought, hang on a second, and I convinced her it was going to be okay.”
Regarding his environmental initiative, the Earthshot Prize, William expressed both pride and frustration. “We’ve built something from scratch. It’s a global environmental prize. It takes time, it takes a lot of effort. It takes a lot of balancing to get it right,” he stated.
The conversation revealed emotional moments during his Cape Town visit, with William admitting he “got emotional” hearing “Circle of Life” performed at Table Mountain. “Hearing The Lion King and things like that gets me quite emotional,” he shared. “So, when they started singing and … we were all there and it’s happened, I did feel quite emotional.” He added, “But the key thing is really the impact now. We need to translate the sort of effort that we put into the visibility of the prize and particularly the visibility of the solutions.”
King Charles continues receiving treatment as an outpatient for an undisclosed form of cancer, with plans to resume fuller duties and increased international travel next year. Meanwhile, Kate has begun returning to public engagements, recently meeting with emergency responders and parents affected by a July knife attack in Southport, England.
