Kate Middleton and Prince William Used to Be Worried Parents

Kate Middleton wears a teal dress and has long brunette hair and bangs, Prince William wears a tuxedo

(Image credit: Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

published 24 February 2025

Former royal aide Jason Knauf is opening up about Kate Middleton, Prince William, and their children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. And according to Knauf, the Prince and Princess of Wales had a lot of concerns about raising their kids in the public eye.

During his interview with 60 Minutes Australia, which aired on Feb. 24, Knauf said of Prince William (via Hello! magazine), "His childhood in front of the media was quite difficult at times." The royal aide continued, "And then he knew that he was going to be raising his kids to deal with social media and mobile phones and all of that stuff."

Knauf—who previously served as The Royal Foundation's CEO—said, "I definitely saw the worried mom and dad behind the scenes, but a lot less in recent years, which has been fantastic for them as a family."

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Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis wearing blue and green coats at church — "I definitely saw the worried mom and dad behind the scenes."

During the same interview, Knauf reflected on how the Royal Family dealt with two major health crises in quick succession.

"If you're Prince William, you find out that both your wife and your father have cancer," he explained, "and that is…I mean, I couldn't believe it." Discussing how Prince William handled the devastating news, Knauf said, "Absolutely awful. It's the lowest I've ever seen him."

Prince William's closest aide breaks his silence | 60 Minutes Australia - YouTube

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As well as working with Kate and William, Knauf was a royal aide to Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry. Touching on his time working with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Knauf explained, "I worked really closely with the two of them, and we had lots of great times."

Knauf also noted his sadness regarding Prince William and Prince Harry's alleged royal rift, saying (via People), "It's very difficult to have this stuff play out in the public eye, but [William]'s chosen to keep his thoughts on it private, and I think all of us who know him really have to respect that we should do the same." He continued, "But I will say, of course, it's been hard and sad, especially for all of us who know both of them."

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Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.