Prince William has been under increasing pressure since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they were stepping back from their senior royal duties.
However, according to recently resurfaced reports, the Duke of Cambridge has spoken out about his frustrations surrounding his role in the past.
WATCH: Moment jovial William makes ‘friendship bracelet joke’ about Harry
During a 2011 podcast, journalist Chris Bowlby discussed the great weight of responsibility the Duke has born his entire life, and it is something that has impacted both his public and private life, reports Express.co.uk.
On the podcast a clip was played of the future king as he spoke out about his need to remain in control.
“I really do want to be in control of my own life,” William said.
“And if I don’t agree with what someone’s saying or someone’s pushing on me then I won’t do it.
“I’m always open for people saying that I’m royal, because most of the time I am, but I hate to lose control.”
A separate 2015 interview with the BBC’s royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell, the Duke again spoke of how he preferred to control his own life, after Wills, Kate and Harry were accused of being “reluctant royals”.
The reason for the accusation came as a result of a report that showed stats which revealed the Queen carried out more engagements than all three young royals combined.
“To be honest, I’m going to get plenty of criticism over my lifetime and it’s something that I don’t completely ignore, but it’s not something I take completely to heart.
“I’m concentrating very much on my role as a father, and I take my duties and my responsibilities to my family very seriously,” William said.
“I want to bring my children up to be good people, with the idea of service and duty to others being very important.
“If I can’t give my time to my children too, then I worry about their future.”
At the time, William reportedly also confessed to Nicholas that royal duty has the potential to “weigh you down at an early age”.
He continued: “I take duty very seriously, and I take my responsibilities very seriously but it’s about finding your own way at the right time and if you’re not careful, duty can sort of weigh you down an awful lot at an early age.”
Wills’ poignant confession may have gone unnoticed at the time, but its message has extra meaning nowadays, given that his brother Harry has been so vocal about the stresses of royal life.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced in January that they would be stepping back from their roles as senior royals, leaving the remaining royal family members subject to increasing pressure and scrutiny.
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