New Documentary Claims King Charles Begged Prince William Not to "Make The Mistake" He Did as a Royal

"Charles was very insistent about this."

Prince William and King Charles wearing blue suits with medals standing next to each other
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Throughout his royal career, King Charles—like his mother, Queen Elizabeth—has always put duty first, even when it meant sacrificing time with his family. At 76, The King, who has been battling cancer since February 24, still maintains a full schedule of royal engagements and refuses to slow down, much to Queen Camilla's dismay. While Prince William has often been criticized for having a more "work-shy" approach, a new documentary reveals that it was The King who has encouraged his son to put an emphasis on his young kids while there's still time.

As reported by the Scottish Daily Express, Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, shared more about what The King allegedly told Prince William in the Channel 5 documentary William and Catherine: Putting Family First.

"Charles said to William, 'Please don't make the mistake that I made' and 'I want you to enjoy your family life,'" Seward claimed. She added that "Charles was very insistent about this because he said: 'I was so dedicated to duty, I couldn't make way for family life in the way that I should've done' and that's what William did."

King Charles and Prince William wearing long red robes

The King and Prince William attended the traditional Service For The Order of The Bath on Friday, May 16.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Princess Diana, Prince Charles, Prince Harry and Prince William in 1986 sitting on a stone wall

Charles, seen with Princess Diana, Prince Harry and Prince William in 1986, reportedly admitted to putting duty over his children.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince William, Prince George, Prince Louis, Princess Kate and Princess Charlotte on the balcony for VE Day 80

Prince William and Princess Kate brought George, Charlotte and Louis to the VE Day parade on May 5 for a rare public appearance.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Prince and Princess of Wales recently demonstrated this family-first approach when they skipped both the annual BAFTA awards and Royal Family's Easter celebration in favor of taking holidays with their children. With Princess Kate now in remission from cancer, focusing on their children has become an even greater priority—and the Waleses seem unwilling to bend when it comes to taking too much time away from Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Although King Charles has reportedly been frank about his missteps as a father, their childhoods seem to have given both Prince William and Prince Harry a greater perspective on the type of dads they want to be.

"He'd been an older dad, and I'd always felt that this created problems, placed barriers between us," Harry wrote of The King in his memoir, Spare. "He wasn't the kind of father who played endless rounds of tag or tossed a ball until long after dark."

However, The King's former butler, Grant Harrold, pointed out that the monarch has reached "a turning point" the former palace employee "never" saw coming.

"I think for the first time ever you've got a King, who I think deep down if his boys need him, he would probably put them before the crown," Harrold said, per the Scottish Daily Express. "That's what I believe, and that's the first time that would have ever have happened in the history of the monarchy."

Kristin Contino
Senior Royal and Celebrity Editor

Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.