Prince William with his 'little monkey of a son' Prince George.
Photo / AP
Prince William with his 'little monkey of a son' Prince George.
Photo / AP
He already has "a little monkey" of a son and a daughter who is "a joy of heaven", but the Duke of Cambridge dropped a big hint on Monday that he and the Duchess of Cambridge may not stop at two children.
Asked whether he and the Duchess, were planning to expand their family, the Duke said: "We've only just had the second one. You never know what is going to happen in the future."
Britain's Prince William, Kate the Duchess of Cambridge and their son Prince George leave after their daughter Princess Charlotte's Christening.
Photo / AP
Speaking with unusual candour about his family and his plans for the future, the Duke also told of his prideat his wife's "amazing" mothering skills and said he has no idea when he will eventually take on full-time royal duties.
In an interview to mark his first day as an air ambulance pilot, the Duke, 33, said of the arrival of Princess Charlotte: "It has been fantastic and she has been a little joy of heaven. At the same time it is more responsibility, looking after two little ones, especially when George is around. He's a little monkey. But it is fantastic having a lovely little family and I am so thrilled. And Catherine has been doing an amazing job as a mother and I'm very proud of her."
The Duke has begun his paid role as a pilot for East Anglian Air Ambulance, based at Cambridge Airport, in which he will work shifts based on a four day on, four day off rota.
His base is 45 miles from Anmer Hall, the new family home in Norfolk.The Duke admitted to first day butterflies, saying: "It's my first day and I'm feeling the nerves. We're starting off on a wet Cambridge day, but I'm really looking forward to getting started.
"It's been a lot of effort and patience in training but we're here now and I'm looking forward to doing the job."
He did not have to wait long for his first call-out, which came at 9.20am, having started his day at 7am. The crew were stood down before reaching their destination and returned to base.
Describing his thoughts on his new job the Duke said: "For me it is also really important to be grounded.
"I feel doing a job like this really helps with grounding the core of what I am trying to become... just trying to be a good guy, trying to do what you can, trying be a decent individual, thoughtful."
Qualities in people that you would want to be associated with.
"There's nothing to say I couldn't do it for the rest of my life. I might be able to, and still balance the two. But obviously at some point there is probably going to be a lot more pressure and responsibility from the other side of my life.
"At the moment I'm juggling the two of them, and a young family. I'm enjoying it, and I like the challenge, but yes, inevitably down the line, things will probably become a little bit more difficult for me to do that. But while I'm still relatively young, I can manage the two jobs as best I can.
"The term 'full-time royal role' is bandied around quite a lot, and no-one actually really knows what that means, but I think I can still manage to do my commitments and my responsibilities as well as I can."The Queen is still very active and is still showing incredible leadership.
"My father is doing many, many engagements, as are the rest of the family, and so there's a lot being done by the Royal family around the country. I hope to still be a part of that, and do as much as I can, but equally do something which I think is incredibly important and [will] prove me in good stead for the future."
His new job will involve some traumatic sights, and he said: "Nothing ever prepares you that well for what you are going to see."
Britain's Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge poses by an air ambulance.
Photo / AFP
Prince William poses in the cockpit of a helicopter air ambulance he begins his new job with the East Anglian Air Ambulance.
Photo / AFP
He had seen similar sights in the 150 incidents he attended during his time as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot, and added: "When you are working with a team you help each other out and you talk about it and you get through it that way."
To allow for royal duties, the Duke will complete about two-thirds of the normal shift pattern, but he is expected to work a full rota in the early months of the role to allow him to settle in. He is donating his full salary to charity.
