The royal family keeps its secrets locked behind palace walls.
But Prince William just broke that silence in a shocking way.
And Prince William made one confession about Queen Elizabeth that no one saw coming.
William reveals the formal distance between royals and grandchildren
Prince William dropped a bombshell about his relationship with Queen Elizabeth during a recent interview on Apple TV's The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy.¹
The heir to the throne admitted that connecting with his grandmother wasn't easy when he was young.
"My grandparents were of a different generation," William explained to the Schitt's Creek star. "I think when we were younger, it was harder to have that very close relationship because it was quite formal."²
This is the royal family nobody talks about publicly.
Behind all those Buckingham Palace balcony appearances and photo opportunities at Balmoral, the Queen's grandchildren had to navigate strict royal protocol even in private family moments.
William had to curtsy to his own grandmother every single day upon first seeing her. That's not exactly the warm and fuzzy relationship most grandkids enjoy.
The formal barriers extended beyond just greetings. Royal children start learning formal behavior "as soon as they're old enough to sit at a table," mastering skills like controlling their voice volume and performing proper greetings to senior royals.³
Even calling the Queen by a family nickname like "Granny" or "Gan-Gan" couldn't erase decades of ingrained formality and protocol that defined every interaction.
William revealed that the relationship didn't truly blossom until much later in life.
"As they got older and I got older, it got warmer and warmer," William shared. "I definitely think my relationship was best with my grandparents when they were more in their, sort of 80s — when they'd sort of, relaxed a little bit."⁴
The price William paid for being heir to the throne
Here's what nobody wants to admit: William's role as future king meant his relationship with the Queen was always half family, half business transaction.⁵
Royal expert Melanie Bromley said it plainly: "William is going to become king, so there has been a very close relationship between William and the Queen" — but that closeness came with strings attached.⁶
The Queen spent time teaching William the same royal lessons she taught his father, King Charles. She molded him into the monarch he'll eventually become.
That's a fundamentally different dynamic than what Prince Harry experienced. The spare got to have an actual grandparent. The heir got a constitutional instructor.
William told Levy the weight of becoming king hit him hard as a kid. "When I was younger, yeah, there are bits that overwhelm you, a bit like, 'Wow, are we actually doing this? Is this sort of happening?'" he confessed.⁷
The generational divide between Queen Elizabeth and her grandchildren reflected a broader truth about the monarchy. The institution prioritizes duty and protocol over personal warmth.
Philip Dampier, a former royal reporter, observed that Prince Philip's relationship with William and Harry was "much warmer" than the relationship between father and son.⁸
Grandparents can afford to relax the formality. Parents carrying the weight of preparing the next generation for the throne don't have that luxury.
William determined to break the cycle for his own children
The Prince of Wales wants something different for Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
William told Levy he wants to "create a world in which my son is proud of what we do, a world and a job that actually does impact people's lives for the better."⁹
Then William dropped this revealing line: "I hope we don't go back to some of the practices in the past, that Harry and I had to grow up with — and I'll do everything I can to make sure we don't regress in that situation."¹⁰
Royal experts believe William is referring to more than just the formality with his grandparents. He's talking about the entire broken system that shaped his childhood — the public battles between his parents, the exposure to media scrutiny, the loneliness and insecurity that bred rivalry between him and Harry.¹¹
British broadcaster Helena Chard explained it: "On occasion, William and Harry felt unsupported, lonely and insecure, leading to sibling rivalry."¹²
William shouldered a particularly heavy burden trying to comfort his mother Diana during her darkest moments with Charles.¹³
After Diana's death in 1997, it was Prince Philip who stepped in to provide what William and Harry needed — "gruff tenderness and outdoor activities like stalking and hiking to tire them out," according to royal author Tina Brown.¹⁴
Philip understood loss in a way few others could. He'd effectively lost his own mother at age ten when she was committed to an asylum in Switzerland.¹⁵
Those walks through the Scottish Highlands at Balmoral helped William and Harry heal. But they couldn't erase the formality that defined every other interaction with the Queen.
William's determination to change things for his children represents a direct challenge to centuries of royal tradition.
The institution doesn't adapt easily. But if anyone has the power to reshape the monarchy for the next generation, it's the future king himself.
¹ Eugene Levy and Prince William, The Reluctant Traveler, Apple TV+, October 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Myka Meier quoted in "40 Rules the Royal Children Have to Follow," Good Housekeeping, April 22, 2020.
⁴ Eugene Levy and Prince William, The Reluctant Traveler, Apple TV+, October 2025.
⁵ Melanie Bromley quoted in "The Truth About Queen Elizabeth's Relationship With Prince William," The List, September 10, 2022.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Eugene Levy and Prince William, The Reluctant Traveler, Apple TV+, October 2025.
⁸ Philip Dampier quoted in "Prince Philip's relationship with his grandchildren," Harper's Bazaar UK, August 22, 2018.
⁹ Eugene Levy and Prince William, The Reluctant Traveler, Apple TV+, October 2025.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Hilary Fordwich quoted in "Prince William & Prince Harry's Rivalry Stems From 'Lonely' Childhood," Reality Tea, October 8, 2025.
¹² Helena Chard quoted in Ibid.
¹³ Ibid.
¹⁴ Tina Brown, The Diana Chronicles, quoted in "Prince Philip's Relationship With His Grandchildren," Town & Country, April 9, 2021.
¹⁵ Ibid.