'Change is on the agenda': Prince William gives candid interview about future of monarchy and Prince Harry

The Prince of Wales has given his most candid interview yet, touching on the double cancer diagnosis of his father and wife Catherine, and his plans to modernise the monarchy when he becomes king.

Prince William even briefly mentioned his estranged brother Harry, Duke of Sussex, during a chat with Canadian actor and comedian Eugene Levy on his show, The Reluctant Traveller, which will air later today in Australia.

The Sun has reported this morning that Prince William referenced 'change' was coming for the monarchy once he becomes king, but he claimed he did not wake up each day thinking about his destiny.

Cancer battles

Prince William also talked at length about the shocking double cancer diagnoses that became public within weeks of each other at the start of 2024, and said he was "proud" of how his wife and father had handled their illnesses.

He described 2024 as the "hardest year that I've ever had".

"I think, when you suddenly realise that the rug, if you were, the metaphorical rug can be pulled from under your feet quite quick at any point," he said.

"You maybe think to yourself, 'It won't happen to us, we'll be OK'.

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"Because I think everyone has a positive outlook, you've got to be positive.

"But when it does happen to you, then it takes you into some pretty not great places."

The prince also touched on the health of his wife, who announced at the start of 2025 she was in remission.

"Yes, things are good. Everything is progressing in the right way, which is all good news," he said.

"I'm so proud of my wife and my father for how they've handled all of last year.

"My children have managed brilliantly as well."

Change is on my agenda

Elsewhere in the interview, William spoke about his future plans for the monarchy, for both himself and his eldest child and heir apparent, Prince George, saying there were "lots of things to think about with that".

"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," he said.

"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.

"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?'."

Aware of his destiny

Elsewhere in the interview, while William said he was aware of his future responsibilities, "it's not something I wake up in the morning and think about".

"I take my roles and my responsibilities seriously but it's important, like I said to you earlier, you don't feel they own you – you have to own them," he said.

Life at Windsor Castle

In promotional clips for the episode, Levy was seen waiting at Windsor Castle for the prince ahead of a tour that was meant to start at 10am before William arrived late on an e-scooter he is known to use when in the castle grounds.

"I'm always late so I thought this was the way to keep my meetings on time," he told Levy before admitting he hadn't worked.

"I'm still regularly late. I have managed to get myself a puncture this morning, which is quite amusing. That's why I was going so slowly up the road," he said.

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During the tour, he also admitted Prince George had "way better" knowledge of royal history than he did, before reflecting on growing up in the castle and how he replicates some of his earliest memories with his own children.

"My cousins and I, and the family would chase each other up and down here and do silly games. And I remember, these carpets weren't here," he told Levy.

"There were a couple of spots where you used to have to watch out. It was a really dark wooden oak floor.

"So, when you went running off, you'd end up coming away and you'd have an enormous splinter.

"So now, it's a lot easier. My children don't realise how lucky they are, they've got a big old carpet they can run down and there's no splinters.

"We come in after-hours and chase each other around sometimes."

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