Prince William has spoken of how much he misses his late grandmother and still senses her presence at Windsor Castle.
‘For me, Windsor is her,’ he says.
His remarks come in a wide-ranging – and at times incredibly candid and deeply personal – conversation with actor Eugene Levy, which will be broadcast as part of a new travel documentary later this week.
The Reluctant Traveller With Eugene Levy sees the American Pie and Schitt’s Creek star take a trip to the UK where, much to his surprise, he is invited on a private tour of Windsor Castle with the Prince of Wales.
The full episode can be seen on Apple TV+ in the UK from Friday.
As the pair walk and talk, William speaks openly about his family and plans for the future.
In a new clip, one of several due to be released this week in the run-up to broadcast on the global streaming service, Levy asks the future king: ‘Do you miss your grandmother?’
William talks about the change, which has clearly affected him deeply.
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Prince William has spoken of how much he misses his late grandmother and still senses her presence at Windsor Castle
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Prince William (pictured with Queen Elizabeth in 2012) told Eugene Levy he misses both the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in the candid exchange on The Reluctant Traveller
‘I do actually, yeah, I do miss my grandmother, and my grandfather,’ he says.
‘It’s been quite a bit of change, so you do sort of, you think about them not being here anymore, and particularly being in Windsor, for me Windsor is her. She loved it here, she spent most of her time here. Showing you around today is very much a case of trying to make sure I’m doing it in the way she’d want you to see it.
‘She had her horses here as well, as you can imagine that was a big deal for her so that’s why she loved it here.’
One of the reasons that William and his wife, Catherine, moved their family to Windsor from London in the summer of 2022 was to spend more time with Queen Elizabeth in the latter years of her life.
Sadly she died just weeks later, on September 8, at Balmoral Castle.
But the family now feel so at home on the ancient Berkshire estate that they have chosen to make it their ‘forever home’.
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Speaking with Eugene Levy, Prince William told how much the late Queen loved Windsor Castle
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Levy described Prince William as ‘an exceptionally gracious host’ after the interview, which will air on Apple TV+ in the UK from Friday
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One of the reasons that William and his wife, Catherine, moved their family to Windsor from London in 2022 was to spend more time with Queen Elizabeth (Pictured: Prince William and Princess Catherine join the Queen and other royals on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in 2016)
In the coming months they will move from four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage to Forest Lodge, a Georgian mansion – although still modest by royal standards – in which they plan to remain even after William becomes King.
It will offer the family the chance for a fresh start in new surroundings, after a particularly tough few years which started with Queen Elizabeth’s death, Catherine and the King’s respective cancer diagnoses and, of course, Prince Harry’s vitriolic memoir Spare and his continuing attacks on the Royal Family.
Canadian Levy has described the experience as ‘one of the most thrilling days of my life’.
‘Prince William was an exceptionally gracious host and I was so impressed with how at ease he made me feel. A smart young man with a great sense of humour,’ he said.
