‘It’s been brutal’: Prince William says 2024 has been the hardest year of his life

Cape Town, South Africa: Prince William has said this year has been “brutal” and the hardest of his life.

The 42-year-old spoke with remarkable candour about the personal impact of 2024, during which both his wife, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, and his father, King Charles, were diagnosed with cancer.

Prince William takes part in a traditional fish braai (barbecue) lunch during a visit to Kalk Bay Harbour in Cape Town.Credit: Getty Images

As he prepared to head home after a four-day visit to Cape Town, where he presided over a major event for his conservation Earthshot project, he also admitted that he did not enjoy the responsibility that came with being the heir to the throne.

And discussing his family, William admitted that his daughter, Princess Charlotte, 9, initially hated his new beard so much that she burst into floods of tears, prompting him to shave it off before convincing her it would be OK.

Asked how the past year had been for him personally, William said: “Honestly? It’s been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life.

“Trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult. But I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done.

“But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.”

The prince said that, despite appearances, he “couldn’t be less relaxed” this year but recognised that he simply had to “crack on” and keep going.

“I enjoy my work and I enjoy pacing myself and keeping sure that I have got time for my family too,” he said.

More than two years after becoming heir and being named Prince of Wales, he admitted that he found his unique position a double-edged sword.

Prince William examines products during a visit to seaweed businesses in Cape Town.Credit: Getty Images

“It’s a tricky one,” he said. “Do I like more responsibility? No. Do I like the freedom that I can build something like Earthshot? Then yes.

“And that’s the future for me. It’s very important, with my role and my platform, that I’m doing something for good. That I’m helping people’s lives, and I’m doing something that is genuinely meaningful.”

The prince said he would like such projects to be “more of a team sport”, revealing that he gets frustrated when businesses, or even the government, are slow to react when he asks for support.

William admitted that he missed search and rescue work as he took to the seas with a lifeboat crew from the National Sea Rescue Institute in Cape Town and heard about their lifesaving work and what inspired them to get involved.

He acknowledged that he needed to work out why there was such reluctance to join his crusade, speculating that big businesses might be waiting for something better around the corner.

“But if we keep waiting like that, we’re going to keep eating into time that we just don’t have,” he said, adding that his message to the corporate world was: “Hurry up and be courageous. Invest faster because we just don’t have that time.”

The prince’s engagements in South Africa are centred around environmental issues and the Earthshot Prize, which he launched in 2019.

Children aged five to 15 were invited to submit an original idea aimed at achieving one of the five “Earthshots”, the aspirational environmental goals established by the Earthshot Prize.

He said that, now he was four years into his 10-year Earthshot initiative, it was time to dial up the rhetoric.

“At some point, my language is going to have to change,” he added.

“But I think, listen, we’ve built something from scratch. It’s a global environmental prize. It takes time, it takes a lot of effort, it takes a lot of balancing to get it right.”

The prince said he was “thrilled” with how the Earthshot awards ceremony had gone in Cape Town, admitting that he felt emotional watching Circle of Life being performed on Table Mountain.

“I don’t know about everyone else, but hearing the Lion King and things like that gets me quite emotional,” he said.

Asked about his facial hair, which he has sported since August, he said: “Well, Charlotte didn’t like it the first time. I got floods of tears the first time I got the beard, so I had to shave it off. And then I grew it back. I thought, hang on a second, and convinced her it was going to be OK.”

The Telegraph, London

Get a note direct from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.