In a rare and moving revelation during his trip to Brazil, Prince William has shared how he and Catherine, the Princess of Wales, navigated one of their family's most difficult challenges: telling their three children about Catherine's cancer diagnosis.
A Family's Honest Approach to Difficult News
The future King disclosed in an interview with Brazilian television host Luciano Huck that they chose to tell Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, everything about their mother's health condition. William emphasised that while every family faces challenges, how they're handled makes all the difference.
"We decided to tell our children everything, both the good news and the bad," William stated. "We explain to them why certain things happen and why they might feel upset." The Prince of Wales acknowledged there's no definitive guide to parenting, revealing their personal choice has always been open communication about all matters.
Modern Parenting in a Digital World
In today's hyper-connected era, William shared a surprising detail about their household: none of the couple's children own mobile phones. This insight aligns with the couple's known desire to provide their children with as normal an upbringing as possible, despite their global prominence.
The interview took an emotional turn when Huck presented William with a photograph of his late mother, Princess Diana, taken during her 1991 visit to São Paulo. William carries her social and humanitarian legacy with him every day, he told the host, while also speaking out against prejudice.
Royal Privacy and Environmental Mission
These family revelations are particularly significant given how private William and Catherine typically are about their children's lives. This discretion stems from William's well-documented wariness of media intrusion, shaped by the tragic death of his mother Princess Diana in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi.
The royal couple has personally experienced media overreach, with William settling a phone hacking claim against Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers privately. Most recently, he won a privacy case against French magazine Paris Match for publishing paparazzi photos of his family during a private holiday.
William's Brazil visit primarily focuses on the Earthshot Prize, his environmental initiative highlighting crucial ecological work. During his trip, he was made an honorary citizen of Rio de Janeiro, receiving the Cidade Maravilhosa award, even as his personal revelations about family resilience captured global attention.
