Prince William seemingly managed to sidestep an awkward question alluding to his uncle Andrew Mountbatten Windsor in a recent interview.
The future king managed to smooth over the topic with a clever reply.
Ahead of his fifth annual Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, Prince William expertly avoided a question about Andrew, who in recent weeks gave up his dukedom and was stripped of his title as prince amid scandal surrounding him.
William was asked about whether he will pursue “change for good” when he is king, in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
She asked: “Given the fact that there’s been a lot of change in your own family recently… Where do you see the change and what do you think needs to happen?”
The question appeared to allude to the changes that have been going on within the royal family in recent weeks.
Prince William side-stepped the question and ensured the conversation remained on The Earthshot Prize.
Prince William focuses on The Earthshot Prize
“I think The Earthshot Prize is a classic example of change. Rather than talk about it, we’re doing it,” he added. “I want to surround myself with people who want to make change and do good in the world.”
“Change will come from backing them not by what I do,” he said of supporting the change-makers who take part in The Earthshot Prize.
Royal fans quickly took to social media to point out William’s handling of the question.
“Smart enough to recognise a trap when he sees one and neatly sidesteps it,” one fan penned on X.
“Unlike Harry, William doesn’t air the family laundry in public. He pivoted immediately, redirecting the conversation to his causes… That’s the posture of a statesman. A leader,” praised another.
“Love and respect for this smart prince,” said a third.
Buckingham Palace strips Andrew of his remaining titles
Just last week, Buckingham Palace released a new statement confirming that Andrew would lose all of his remaining royal titles.
Andrew himself had just released a statement a week prior, saying he would stop using his Duke of York title.
The former duke had been keeping things at a low-profile in recent years, after he officially stepped down from his public duties in 2019.
This decision came after he did a Newsnight interview about his friendship with late convicted sex offender Epstein.
The allegations against Andrew
At the time, he was facing allegations of sexual assault by the late Virginia Giuffre, who took her own life in April of this year.
Ms Giuffre said that she was 17 at the time and had been trafficked by Epstein.
Andrew has always vehemently denied the allegations against him.
In 2022, Andrew reached an out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre for an undisclosed sum. Despite this, he repeated that the settlement did not mean any liability or admission of guilt.
Meanwhile, it was confirmed this week that Andrew’s titles had formally been removed from him.
The changes within the royal family have already called into question what this means for the future of the House of York.
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