Prince William Admits He’s Struggled with Parenthood at Times

Prince William got surprisingly candid during an appearance on a Vietnamese talk show earlier this week.

Speaking on the English-language show Talk Vietnam during his two-day visit to the country to fight illegal wildlife trade, the 34-year-old royal dad opened up about his family life.

On fatherhood, “there’s wonderful highs and wonderful lows,” he told host Tran Thuy Duong. “It’s been quite a change for me personally. I’m very lucky in the support I have from Catherine, she’s an amazing mother and a fantastic wife.

But he also acknowledged, “I’ve struggled at times. The alteration from being a single, independent man to going into marriage and then having children is life-changing.

“I adore my children very much, and I’ve learned a lot about myself and about family just from having my own children.”

Calling 3-year-old son Prince George “a right little rascal,” he said, “he keeps me on my toes but he’s a sweet boy.” As for 18-month-old Princess Charlotte, he said, “bearing in mind I haven’t had a sister, so having a daughter is a very different dynamic. So I’m learning about having a daughter, having a girl in the family.”

Following a question from a 10-year-old girl in the audience about his advice for protecting wildlife and how to make a difference, he said, “I worry about the future more. When you have something or someone in your life to give the future to, I think it focuses the mind more about what you’re giving them. Are you happy that you’ve done all you can to leave it in a good state?’

“I would like [my kids] to grow up with more simple aspirations. I think there’s a lot of huge aspirations and people living with an enormous amount of stuff that they don’t necessarily need.

“The materialism of the world — I find quite tricky sometimes.

“I would like George and Charlotte to grow up being a little bit more simple in their approach and their outlook, and just looking after those around them and treating others as they would like to be treated themselves.”

This story originally appeared on People.com.