William, Prince of Wales, has candidly revealed the one aspect of being a father he finds difficult.
Prince William, 43, shares three children — Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7 — with Catherine, Princess of Wales, 44. The future king clearly loves being a dad, but there’s one thing about parenting that poses a challenge to him.
William was speaking to host Greg James during a panel discussion on the Wednesday, February 8 episode of BBC Radio 1’s “Life Hacks” podcast.
Prince William Explained the Instinct to ‘Fix’ Things for Everyone Is Challenging
GettyThe February 18 edition of “Life Hacks” was a mental health special, with the guests discussing topics like their feelings and whether or not those close to them talk openly about how they feel.
Greg James asked Prince William “Do you notice that your children talk openly about their feelings? Their day? How they were feeling about a certain thing?”
William answered, “Yeah. Sometimes too much, to get all the details. Which I love. You know, it’s, it’s amazing.”
The prince went on to explain that something he finds particularly challenging about being a dad is the instinct to want to fix everything, even when that’s not possible.
He said, “You feel a sense you need to fix it for everyone. And that I find quite difficult. I have to remind myself, you know, you don’t need to fix everything.” He continued, “You do need to listen, and it’s important to be okay with those, those feelings, and those, those comments.”
The show’s panel also featured rapper, songwriter, and actor Professor Green, rapper, author, and broadcaster Guvna B, Director of Clinical Services at James’ Place Allan Brownrigg, and a young carer called Nathan — each of whom added a lot of constructive discussion to the episode.
William Had Previously Spoken About His Parental Challenges
GettyPrince William’s appearance on “Life Hacks” wasn’t the first time he had opened up about the challenges of being a parent.
Per The Independent, just last year, in November 2025, William spoke to broadcaster Luciano Huck in Brazil. The prince was there for the Earthshot Prize in Rio de Janeiro. He discussed his and wife Kate’s joint decision regarding their children’s access to technology.
William revealed that his oldest son, Prince George, not owning a mobile phone has “become a little bit of a tense issue” within the family.
“It’s really hard,” he said in a video shared on Huck’s Instagram account on Monday, November 10. He went on, saying, “Our children don’t have phones. I think when George moves on to secondary school, then maybe he might have a phone that has no internet access.”
It’s great that Prince William speaks so freely about his fatherly challenges. Hopefully it encourages more people to do the same if they are finding it tough being a parent.
