Prince William: 'I don't lie awake waiting to be king' BBC News

you're a future monarch you've had a chance over more than 30 years now to observe our current monarch the Queen what from the very particular perspective that you have as a future king what what has impressed you most about her I think the Queen's duty and service tolerance her commitment to others I think that's all been incredibly important to me and it's been a real sort of guiding example of just what sort of a good Mollet can be and it's been incredibly insightful for for me growing up watching her leadership in that role so what what in particular would you say you've learnt from I think just the qualities that are essential for somebody in a in a leadership role I think it's important to grow into a particular role with the rights characteristics and the rights qualities and I think she's exempt like that in everything she's done and has she made a point of guiding in a sense instructing you as the Future King about as it were that the art of monarchy has she has she sort of taken you aside on many occasions and done that she hasn't no she's more of a soft and soft influencing modest kind of instruction so it's more guidance rather than instruction she I don't think she believes too heavily in instruction she believes in finding your own path but with very good examples and guidance around you to support you and I think that's what she's she's found to be the most effective for herself as the fact that she has been in able to over the since 1952 the many years understands how best to I bet she can make an effect with her role and I think it's all about finding your way with the right people the right supports close family around you to guide you I think she sees that more important than instructing and I think yeah I think there's an element of you know there is a long-term view to look at it's not a short term as much as in politics it is more seeing a vision and having a role and it's about representing timeless values I think it's very important it's um you've got to mix the traditional with the modern and I think you can that's something she's done extremely well you've referred already to her sense of duty to live conspicuous devotion to duty the cheese displayed with these decades to what extent would you say that you share that degree of devotion to royal duty I think um rajat is extremely important I think it's um it's part of the part of fabric of what the royal family and any future Manik has and it's something that is very important and I take duty very seriously and I take my responsibilities very seriously but it's it's about finding your own way at the right time and if you're not careful Duty can sort of weigh you down awful lot at a very early age and I think you've got to develop into the GT role it's something that I take very seriously but with my family and with my my role of air ambulance for instance and I think there's a number of things I've got my fingers in many pies at the moment that I want to keep an eye on and that will changes its life goes on and I'll take one more you know why I'm asking you this it's because there is an impression in some quarters that you are in some way a slightly reluctant royal you will have seen or I'm sure people will have told you about some of the stories some of the headlines in recent weeks and months work shy William I think some of them have said now there's also been critter the Duchess of similar vein how do you respond to that do you regard that criticism that impression as being a fair one I to be honest I'm going to get plenty of criticism over my lifetime and it's it's something that I don't and completely ignore but it's not something I take you know completely to heart I'm concentrating very much on my my role as a father and the new father and I took my my duties and my responsibilities to my family very seriously and I want to bring my children up and as good people with you know the idea of service and duty to others very important but if I can't give my time to my children as well then worry about their future plus the servant community with the air ambulance side very I find the amateur all very important to me it's 70 community working alongside extremely good professionals in the medical profession and then there's my royal responsibilities which I still keep going and which when the Queen decides that she's she's going to hand our responsibilities I'll be the first person to accept them but fairly from what you're saying this this division of your life into these three components the Royal duty air ambulance pilot and your family clearly that's very important to you now I wonder whether that division into these three parts the fact that then you are not fully engaged at the moment in royal responsibilities does that have the fulling agreement and endorsement of your grandmother your father absolutely my grandmother my father 150 percent supportive behind everything I'm doing and Harry and Kathryn they they very much understands you know whilst my grandmother is still extremely active at the helm of the royal family it's the monarch my father is incredibly busy with his transport activities and other responsibilities there's there's the time now on the space to explore other means of doing a worthwhile job and for me the Aramis isn't it is an incredible important part it's not gonna last forever but I think it's important so I think saying that they having experienced royal duty from such a young age the Queen from 25 your father from even younger of course that they recognized the importance for you to be partially exempted from that degree of royal duty at a very young age no I don't think it's that I think it's more that they understand is the flexibility right now whilst whilst I'm still relatively young and they're still very very active there's a there's an order of succession and I'm I'm at the bottom the moment so there is the the time and space and future to to take or more and better more yeah clearly as the Queen becomes 19 and we mustn't forget as your grandfather approaches the age of 95 clearly a greater share of the royal burden will fall on you and as that happens you will grasp it willingly absolutely wearing me and as that time comes I'll be the first person put my hand up and take it on but like I said my grandfather is so active as well and he's unwilling to to slow down my grandmother is very much at the helm and my father is extremely busy so there's a lot of as of a very hard working members the family already in place and I look up to that and I see they do a fantastic job so you would expect to continue to be an heir eminent valid for the foreseeable future yeah I have a contract and where my contract runs I probably a time that I finish being scrupulously pretty scrupulously detached from all issues your father on the other hand as Prince of Wales of course is very much involved in all sorts of issues and has indicated that he would wish to convene when he becomes king make heartfelt interventions I think is the phrase that's been used what's your sense of what it is acceptable for a constitutional monarch to do how involved can a constitutional monarch be in current issues it's a very good question and it some is some of the term occupies a lot of my thinking space as to how how on earth you would develop into something modern in today's world and I take a lot of you know I'm in a unique position and actually a very privileged position to be able to to see some of this now which is that I've got my grandmother who takes a very young if you like more of a passive role in how she believes her role should be she's she's above politics she's very much away from it all and keeps keeps another night and I've got my father who Minds an awful lot about many of the causes he's involved in and really digs down into his charitable areas as much as you can and so I haven't equal sort of idea as to how my role could could benefit everybody in the future it's not it's not something that I've you know right now it's at the top of my priority list to think about I think about it just quietly when I get a few minutes or when something pops up and it reminds you to think about it but I think in the Queen I have an extraordinary example of somebody who's done an enormous amount of good and and she's probably the best role model I could have in front of me and it does sound as though you do spend quite a lot of time thinking about it each monic brings some of their own personality to the role and I sense that you're saying that when the time comes you will hope to be a rather more modern monarch and bring something of that sense to the road but I think the royal family has to modernize and develop as it goes along and it has to stay relevant and that's the challenge for me is how do I make the raw family relevance in the next 20 years time and you know it could be 40 years time could be 60 or some I had no idea when that's going to be and I certainly don't lie awake waiting or hoping for it because it sadly means that my my family have moved on and I don't want that but you must be confident that you can do that that you can make and keep the monarchy relevant within the United Kingdom actually I hope that's something that I can do it's um it's something that I think I'm very important about and the Queen is a fantastic role model too to lead that she's done for the last term my dears I don't know if you recall at what age you when you first got an inkling that you weren't part of a normal family I wonder whether George has in any sense started to pick up on the fact that he's not part of an ordinary family or whether you and your wife are starting to prepare the way for him realizing who he is and what one day he will become well as far as we're concerned within our sort of family unit we are a normal family you know I love my children the same way any father does and I hope George loves me the same way any son does to his father so we are very normal in that sense and you know George there'll be a time and a place to bring George up and here understand how he fits in in the world but right now it's just a case of keeping a secure stable environment around him and you know showing as much love as I can as a father William thank you very much okay

Channel: BBC News

Views: 2,102,772

Keywords: bbc, prince william, prince, william, bbc news, interview, royal, royals, prince harry queen, queen elizabeth, kate middleton, lifestyle, queen birthday, queen 90 birthday, birthday, culture, tradition, king, prince charles, throne

Id: 7CQeVLDs8m0

Length: 11min 30sec (690 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 20 2016