Prince William: Queen Elizabeth an incredible role model

Report By: Nina Rai

London, 22 May, 2012

On the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the British Queen, Prince William spoke to presenter Alan Titchmarsh about his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II and her influence on his life.

This interview is shown in a documentary about the English monarch which will be broadcast on ITV1 on June 01, 2012 at 9 pm, called "Elizabeth: Queen, Wife, Mother" Extracts from the ITV1 interview are given below.

The Duke of Cambridge talking about his relationship with his grandmother Queen Elizabeth declares straight from the heart: ‘She’s my grandmother first, and Queen second. She’s an extremely caring grandmother. She’s constant and genuine.’

The doting grandson goes on to state that many people ‘admire the fact she’s done what she’s done for so long without complaint. Over the years I’ve grown up and tried to understand her role and my own. We have a shared understanding,’ he adds.

The 29-year-old Duke of Cambridge concedes to being ‘incredibly daunted’ by the prospect of following in his famed grandmother’s footsteps as monarch. Prince William believes she would be a tough act to follow, even as she celebrates her Diamond Jubilee later this year.

‘There's not much wriggle room left for me to try and find my own path but I will do. It's just a matter of learning what's gone before me. She's an incredible role model. I would like to take all of her experiences, all of her knowledge and put it in a small box and to be able to constantly refer to it.’

Revealing tit-bits about his relationship with his favorite grandmother, he talks about the dilemma he was facing over the official guest list which had gone out of control, at the time of his wedding to Kate Middleton.

In an extract published in the Radio Times, Prince William says: ‘There was very much a subdued moment when I was handed a list with 777 names on - not one person I knew or Catherine knew. … I went to her and said, 'Listen, I've got this list, not one person I know - what do I do?' and she went, 'Get rid of it. Start from your friends and then we'll add those we need to in due course. It's your day.'

Presenter Alan Titchmarsh, who also spoke to several members of the royal family for the documentary, believes Prince William will have to wait for his turn to become king of England.

According to him, the speculation that succession might skip Prince Charles completely and go directly to Prince William, just because he happens to be a young man who has tied the knot with an attractive woman is just preposterous. Tistchmarsh goes on to retort that this is not Hollywood or Tinseltown, but England ‘our history stretches back a bit further,’ affirms Titchmarsh.

Source: ITV.com/news

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