The Prince of Wales says Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip brought warmth and laughter during a difficult childhood.
Prince William has shared how his grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, helped fill the emotional gap left by his parents’ separation.
In the October 3 episode of The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy on Apple TV, the Prince of Wales opened up about the late Duke of Edinburgh’s sense of humour and the comfort his grandparents brought to the family.
“My grandfather was incredibly amusing—sometimes not deliberately, sometimes by accident!” William said with a laugh. He described family gatherings as full of laughter and affection, thanks to Philip’s wit and the Queen’s quieter but equally sharp humour. “There was always a warmness, there was always laughter, there was always a family feel,” he added. “My grandparents loved having the family around them.”
When asked whether he made them laugh, William admitted he did—but with caution. “You had to be careful about your timing, and who it was about,” he said.
Later in the episode, William reflected on how the 1996 divorce of his parents, King Charles III and Princess Diana, disrupted the sense of “warmth, safety, security, and love” in his and Harry’s early years. The brothers were still young at the time, just eight and six.
Now raising three children of his own, William said he is determined to build the kind of stable home life he once found in his grandparents. “You’ve got to start the children off now with a happy, healthy, stable home,” he said. “Otherwise, you’re setting them up for a bit of a hard time and a fall.”
