{"id":486393,"date":"2025-10-09T19:11:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T19:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/486393\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T19:11:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T19:11:10","slug":"heres-what-prince-william-misses-most-about-queen-elizabeth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/486393\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s What Prince William Misses Most About Queen Elizabeth"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you think the royals aren\u2019t anything like us, it might be time to rethink. Let\u2019s just take Prince William. Sure, he grew up with a lot of money and privileges, and has spent his entire life in royal castles and palaces<\/a>. (Of course, he is also the future British king.) But despite all that, he\u2019s also a man who lost his beloved grandparents and still misses them dearly.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s never been more apparent than in William\u2019s recent appearance on Eugene Levy\u2019s documentary series The Reluctant Traveler on Apple TV+. The prince opened up about royal family life and gave us glimpses into what Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were really like behind closed doors. Chatting with Levy at Windsor Castle\u2014and later, in very British fashion, at the pub\u2014he also told us what he misses most about spending one-on-one (and one-on-two) time with the pair.<\/p>\n

Get\u00a0Reader\u2019s Digest\u2019s\u00a0<\/b>Read Up newsletter<\/b><\/a> for more royals, cleaning, humor, travel, tech and fun facts all week long.<\/b><\/p>\n

What were Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip like as grandparents?<\/p>\n

Elizabeth and Philip \u201cloved having the family around,\u201d William said in the documentary. \u201cWe were always encouraged to turn up and be around.\u201d<\/p>\n

William revealed that while he and Harry always had a good relationship with their grandparents, he felt closest to them when he\u2019d gotten a bit older. The prince said this was mainly due to the fact that the queen and Philip \u201cwere of a different generation.\u201d The royal pair, who spent 73 years together, weren\u2019t exactly the cuddly and affectionate type when he was a kid, unlike, say, William\u2019s mother, the late Princess Diana<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think when we were younger, it was harder to have that very close relationship because it was quite formal,\u201d William said. \u201cBut as they got older, and I got older, it got warmer and warmer.\u201d He went on to say that he thinks \u201cmy relationship was best with my grandparents\u201d when they were in their 80s: \u201cThey relaxed a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

What does William miss the most about them?<\/p>\n

Having a good laugh! The prince said the atmosphere was joyful every time he was around his grandparents. Remembering the \u201chappy times,\u201d he said there was \u201calways warmness, always laughter, always a family feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandfather was incredibly amusing, sometimes not deliberately, sometimes by accident, but we had a lot of laughs,\u201d William said. \u201cHe had a great sense of humor, as did my grandmother, actually.\u201d (We certainly would have loved to see the queen giggling away with the younger members<\/a> of the family!)<\/p>\n

But as we well know, when out and about during her impressive seven decades on the throne, the queen was determined to keep it together at all times. She was polite and smiling, no doubt, but she also tended to keep a certain distance when seen in public. William hinted, however, that the facade wasn\u2019t always what it seemed, and the late monarch could often be the exact opposite among her immediate family.<\/p>\n

What was the queen\u2019s humor like?<\/p>\n

\"OneMax Mumby\/Indigo\/Getty images<\/p>\n

Among those who had the privilege to know her well, Elizabeth was famous for her witty, dry humor with a big dose of self-irony. \u201cLaughing things off has been an important survival technique,\u201d royal historian Robert Lacey told the BBC, and singer Elton John, a close confidant of the royal household, simply called her \u201chilarious\u201d in his autobiography.<\/p>\n

William said the queen certainly had a sense of humor, and he often managed to make her laugh, but \u201cyou had to be careful about your timing; you had to pick and choose your moments\u201d when making jokes with her. Unfortunately, William didn\u2019t offer more insight into that cryptic message, but we know that his brother Harry once pranked the late monarch<\/a> with an inappropriate voicemail message.<\/p>\n

Harry was also the one who gifted the queen some very special Christmas presents, according to royal biographer Omid Scobie, including a shower cap reading \u201cAin\u2019t Life a B\u2014\u201d and a \u201cBig Mouth Billy Bass\u201d singing fish. In case you didn\u2019t know, joke gifts are a real thing in the royal household, and they\u2019re an important part of the royal Christmas festivities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Unlike the queen, Philip was always an open book. The queen\u2019s husband was well known for, and regularly made headlines with, his candid remarks and sometimes inappropriate jokes.<\/p>\n

How much time did they spend together as he was growing up?<\/p>\n

Quite a lot, it seems. From age 13 to 18, William went to Eton, Britain\u2019s No. 1 elite school, located just a stone\u2019s throw from Windsor Castle. So given that he could literally walk over to the castle, it\u2019s only natural that he\u2019d regularly pop in to see his grandparents and have a chat (or a laugh).<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d come around and have a bit of tea with her because she had the best teas ever,\u201d William remembers. He\u2019d even try to visit for tea on weekends and evenings, \u201cif I could get away.\u201d<\/p>\n

The one-on-one time with his grandmother always ensured he was well-fed, according to William. In the U.K., having tea isn\u2019t always about the tea alone\u2014the term is also used for informal dinners. When together, the pair would chat \u201cabout family stuff, work stuff\u201d and update each other on \u201cwhat we were up to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Word on the street says that William\u2019s oldest son, Prince George, will also attend Eton<\/a>. So while George\u2019s grandparents, King Charles and Queen Camilla, reside in London, William could continue the tradition by inviting him over for tea once in a while.<\/p>\n

Given all the time the prince and the late queen spent together at the castle, it\u2019s no surprise that William still thinks of her when out and about on the grounds: \u201cFor me, Windsor is her. She loved it here. She spent most of the time here.\u201d<\/p>\n

What else did William reveal in the interview?<\/p>\n

The prince was in quite a chatty mood, so besides his relationship with his grandparents, he also let slip some other bits and pieces we\u2019d never heard.<\/p>\n