Will and Kate

Prince William Opens Up about Parenting with Kate Middleton and Fatherhood

“There’s wonderful highs and wonderful lows,” he said.
This image may contain Prince William Duke of Cambridge Tie Accessories Accessory Human Person Suit and Clothing
By Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images.

Parenting is a difficult job, even for a prince. During his trip to Vietnam to attend the third International Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, Prince William got candid about his experience as a new parent, and what he’s learned in the past few years raising children with Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.

“Well, as the other parents in the room will testify, there’s wonderful highs and there’s wonderful lows,” he told Talk Vietnam, a popular English-language news show, per E!. “It’s been quite a change for me, personally. I’m very lucky in the support I have from Catherine,” he said, referring to his wife. “She is an amazing mother and a fantastic wife.”

“But I’ve struggled at times, the alteration from being a single, independent man to going into marriage and then having children is life-changing,” he continued. “I adore my children very much and I’ve learned a lot about myself and about a family, just from having my own children and it’s amazing how much you pick up from just in those moments.”

He spoke about how different it is raising a daughter. “Charlotte is, bearing in mind I’ve never had a sister, so having a daughter is a very different dynamic. So I’m learning about having a daughter and having a girl in the family.”

George, he says, is a bit of a “rascal.” “He keeps me on my toes. But he’s a sweet boy.”

William also said that he’d like to raise his children with an awareness of the world around them and an anti-materialistic lifestyle. “I think there’s a lot of huge aspirations and people living with an enormous amount of stuff that they don't necessarily need. The materialism of the world I find quite tricky sometimes.”

Now that he’s a parent, “I worry about the future more. When you have something or someone in your life to give the future to I think it focuses the mind more about what you’re giving them, and are you happy that you’ve done all you can to leave it in a good state.”