Prince William hopes that his father Prince Charles will spend more time with his grandchildren as he reaches the age of 70, according to a new BBC documentary that will air tonight.
When asked whether the Prince of Wales ‘has time to be a grandfather’ to Prince George, five, Princess Charlotte, three, and Prince Louis, six months (and soon to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s first child, thought to be due next spring) ‘on top of everything else,’ his son described him as a ‘brilliant’ grandfather, but revealed that he ‘would like him to have more time’ with the youngsters, as his royal duties often prevent him from doing so.
‘It's something I’m working more heavily on, put it that way,’ he said in a clip from Prince, Son & Heir: Charles at 70, which will be broadcast on BBC One at 9pm tonight. ‘I think he does have time for it, but I would like him to have more time with the children.’
‘I think now he’s reached his 70th year, it’s a perfect time to consolidate a little bit because, as most families would do, you are worried about having them around and making sure their health is okay,’ he continued.
‘So, having more time with him at home would be lovely, and being able to, you know, play around with the grandchildren. When he’s there, he’s brilliant, but we need him there as much as possible.’
It was previously rumoured that the Cambridge children spend much less time with the Prince of Wales than with the Duchess’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, and that this had become a point of contention with the Prince. Whatever the truth in such reports, it seems that in some respects, the royals are very much just like us: they're all too aware that grandparents often double up as brilliant childcare...