Prince William says he feared for his father Prince Charles' life after he was diagnosed with coronavirus
Prince William and Kate Middleton have spoken about the coronavirus pandemic, life in quarantine, and their concerns about the risk posed by the disease to their family, especially the elderly ones.
Speaking to BBC News on Friday, April 17, the Duke of Cambridge admitted he has been worried about the health of his father, Prince Charles, 71, and the well-being of his grandparents, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, who are both over 90.
The 37-year-old shared that he and his family are doing everything to protect the Queen and Philip from the coronavirus. The royal family’s eldest couple is currently in isolation at Windsor Castle for several weeks.
“Obviously I think very carefully about my grandparents - who are the age they're at, we're doing everything we can to make sure that they're isolated away and protected from this,” William said, while speaking via a video link from his home in Norfolk.
He also confessed to his concern for his father Charles, who got infected a few weeks ago. “I have to admit, at first I was quite concerned, he fits the profile of somebody, at the age, he is at, which is fairly risky.”
However, he admitted that he was hopeful Charles would recover. “My father has had many chest infections, colds, and things like that over the years. And so, I thought to myself, if anybody is going to be able to beat this, it's going to be him. And actually, he was very lucky, he had mild symptoms. I think the hardest thing he found was having to stop. And not being able to go and get a bit of fresh air and a walk,” William said.
“He's a mad walker and just loves walking so I think he found it quite difficult. Especially, also I think with his mental health, being stuck inside and not being able to go for walks,” he said, while adding: “Actually he was very lucky he had mild symptoms and I got a lot of good reassurance from doctors and friends of mine who said ‘listen, the days he's on when we found out about it, he's probably passed the worst of it'. And obviously speaking to him made me feel more reassured that he was OK, but again at that age, you do worry a bit more.”
In the same Zoom interview, the Dutchess of Cambridge talked about their life in isolation with their three children at Anmer Hall. Kate revealed that the couple has kept a strict rule while homeschooling their children - Prince George, 6, Princess Charlotte, 4, and Prince Louis, who will turn two on April 23.
The couple insisted that they make sure they do not scare their children and make it "too overwhelming", but added that teaching at home was "fun" and the children had been pitching tents, cooking and baking. “We don't tell the children; we've actually kept going through the holidays. I feel very mean,” said Kate, as she revealed they did not give the children off during the Easter holidays.
During the interview, the 38-year-old also said that like many families, they also faced "ups and downs" during the lockdown. But they always keep in touch with other family members through online video calls. “It gets a bit hectic, I'm not going to lie, with a two-year-old you have to take the phone away. It's quite hectic for them all to say the right thing at the right time without pressing the wrong buttons. But it's great and it's nice to keep in touch with everybody,” she added.