Prince William admits 2024 'hardest' year of his life

Prince William has admitted 2024 has been the "hardest" year of his life.

The royal heir described his family's health battles as "brutal" and "dreadful", given both his father, King Charles III, and wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, have been fighting cancer.

"It's been dreadful. It's probably been the hardest year in my life," William, 42, told reporters as he concluded his visit to South Africa on Thursday.

"So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult."

He did, however, speak of his pride at the way Charles, 75, and Catherine, 42, had managed their illnesses.

"But I'm so proud of my wife, I'm proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done," William said. "But from a personal family point of view, it's been, yeah, it's been brutal."

William also mentioned his daughter, Princess Charlotte, had not initially been a fan of the beard he started sporting this year.

"Well, Charlotte didn't like it the first time. I got floods of tears, so I had to shave it off," he explained. "And then I grew it back. I thought, hang on a second, and I convinced her it was going to be okay."

Asked whether he was enjoying the increased responsibility of his role as Prince of Wales, William revealed he did not but that it also afforded him the opportunity to create positive initiatives such as the Earthshot prize for environmentalism.

"It's a tricky one. Do I like more responsibility? No," he said. "Do I like the freedom that I can build something like Earthshot then yes."