Prince William signalling desire to ‘break out’ of royal conventions with latest move

Marcus Donaldson

By Marcus Donaldson


Published: 07/10/2025

- 22:58

The Prince of Wales made it clear he would be seeking to make change

Prince William has signalled his desire to “break out” royal conventions when he shared a candid interview with Canadian actor Eugene Levy, a royal biographer has observed.

The Prince of Wales shared intimate insights about his life and plans for the future while appearing on Apple TV+'s The Reluctant Traveller.


Looking ahead, the future King told Mr Levy that: “I think it’s safe to say that change is on my agenda. Change for good.”

William’s candid words and his unprecedented appearance on the Canadian comedians programme, were a very deliberate and clever way to suggest he wanted to chart his own path.

“It was a savvy move by William,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith declared.

“By choosing a Canadian comedian as his interlocutor, William seems to be signalling that he wants to break out of the conventional mould,” she told People Magazine.

While speaking with Mr Levy, William continued to empathise the importance of “change” in his thinking.

“I enjoy change; I don't fear it. That's the bit that excites me — the idea of being able to bring some change.”

Prince William

Prince William has been described as signalling his desire to ‘break out’ of royal conventions with his latest move

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GETTY

The future King then quickly corrected himself with tempering comment he did not seek: "Overly radical change, but changes that I think need to happen."

That addition was an important one for historian Robert Lacey, especially as the Prince of Wales addressed issues with his own upbringing.

“I want to create a world in which my son [Prince George] is proud of what we do, a world and a job that actually does impact people’s lives for the better,” William told Mr Levy.

“I hope we don’t go back to some of the practices in the past, that Harry and I had to grow up in – and I’ll do everything I can to make sure we don’t regress in that situation.

Prince William, Eugene Levy

The Prince of Wales spoke candidly to Eugene Levy on his Apple TV travel show

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Apple TV

"You take that and you learn from it and you try and make sure you don't do the same mistakes as your parents,” he added.

This comment, and William’s general desire for change, could be interpreted as a criticism of his father King Charles parenting and current reign.

However, Mr Lacey assured that this was not that case and that his remarks “shouldn’t be seen as criticism of King Charles”.

“He is very close to his father and has been his most important supporter,” he told People Magazine.

King Charles, Prince William

William said he didn't want to make 'same mistakes as your parents'

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Nevertheless, William continued to stress his desire to “question things more” in his discussion with Mr Levy.

“If you're not careful, history can be a real weight and an anchor around you, and you can feel suffocated by it.

"I think if you're too intrinsically attached to the history, you can't possibly have any flexibility, because you worry that the chess pieces move too much and therefore no change will happen.

“I like a little bit of change,” the Prince of Wales said again.