Duke on ‘highs and lows’ of parenthood

THE DUKE of Cambridge has said that he has “struggled at times” with parenthood and is now more worried about the future.

In a candid interview with Talk Vietnam, a popular English-language talk show on VTV, Vietnam’s national broadcaster, William criticised materialism and said he wants Prince George and Princess Charlotte to grow up with “simple aspirations”.

During the Duke’s first official visit to the South-East Asian country, presenter Tran Thuy Duong asked the 34year-old about his personal commitment to protecting wildlife and about his family life. The Duke also took questions from the audience.

Speaking about his children, the Duke said: “There’s wonderful highs and wonderful lows. 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. George is a right little rascal sometimes. He keeps me on my toes, but he’s a sweet boy. And Charlotte, bearing in mind I haven’t had a sister ... so having a daughter is a very different dynamic.”

He took a question from a 10-yearold girl about how an individual could help protect wildlife, before going on to describe his hopes that his children would inherit a better world.

The Duke said: “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.

“I would like them to grow up with more simple aspirations. I think there’s ... people living with an enormous amount of stuff that they don’t necessarily need. The materialism of the world I find quite tricky sometimes.

“I would like George and Charlotte to grow up being a little bit more simple in their approach and their outlook and just looking after those around them and treating others as they would like to be treated themselves.”