Growing up in the Royal Family certainly has its advantages and disadvantages, as Prince William pointed out in a new episode of The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy, released October 3. But despite the media intrusion he faced as a child, the Prince of Wales shared some fond memories of playing in Windsor Castle with his cousins—and how Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are following in their footsteps (with some extra safety precautions in place).
While taking Levy on a tour of the castle, Prince William explained that St George's Hall was badly damaged during a devastating 1992 fire—although you'd never know it by looking at the magnificent room today. The Prince of Wales recalled how the hall used to look, when he'd join his royal cousins and "chase each other up and down here and play silly games."
"I remember these carpets weren’t here, and there are a couple of spots where you used to have to watch out because you’d get massive splinters because the floor is old wood," he shared. "When you went running off, you’d end up coming away with an enormous splinter. Everyone would say ‘stop, stop!’ and someone would have an enormous splinter in their foot."
Admitting, "now it’s a lot easier," the Prince of Wales explained that his own kids Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, like to play the same games in the castle.
"My children don't realize how lucky they are," he said. "They’ve got a big old carpet they can run down and there's no splinters." It seems Prince William also enjoys the benefit of the carpet these days, admitting, "We come in after hours and chase each other around sometimes."
While getting to play in Windsor Castle was certainly a benefit of being a royal child, the Prince of Wales also reflected on the challenges he experienced in the spotlight.
"If you’re not careful, you can intrude so much into someone’s life that actually you start unpicking everything," William told Levy. "And growing up, I saw that with my parents, the media were so insatiable back then—it’s hard to think of it now, but they were much more insatiable."
The Prince of Wales explained that he takes "a very strong line" when it comes to his boundaries, and will "fight against" those in the media "who overstep it." However, he shared that he's realistic about the public interest in his family.
Chatting to Levy over pints at a local Windsor pub, William said, "I understand, in my role, there is interest; you have to work with the media. So, you have to have a grown-up sort of situation with it as well."
