William: The Queen Helps Me Find 'Balance'

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William: The Queen Helps Me Find 'Balance'

September 26, 2011

Prince William is talking about his wedding to Kate and the Queen in a candid and exclusive interview, declaring, "My grandma is incredible."

"I say to people, 'She's my grandmother to me first and then she's the Queen,'" William tells Daily Mail journalist Robert Hardman, author of the new book Our Queen. "Words that come from her, I take very personally and I really appreciate."

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Will explains that he has learned many useful lessons from his now-85-year-old grandmother about striking a delicate balance between "personal" and "duty."

"As I've got older, she's become an even more important part of my life," he continues. "And obviously, with the wedding, she was a massive help.'"

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For example, William talked about the first meeting with Buckingham Palace about the guest list. Excited to invite a bunch of his and Kate's close friends, he revealed, "I was given this official list of 777 names -- dignitaries, governors, all sorts of people -- and not one person I knew."

He then called upon the Queen for her help: "I rang her up the next day and said, 'Do we need to be doing this?' And she said, 'No. Start with your friends first and then go from there.' And she told me to bin the list. She made the point that there are certain times when you have to strike the right balance. And it's advice like that which is really key, when you know that she's seen and done it before."

Still, when Will was told he must get married in his Irish Guards uniform (following his selection to be Colonel of the Irish Guards, his most senior military appointment) despite wanting to wear something else, he recalls that the Queen laid down the law.

"So you don't always get what you want, put it that way," the Prince says with a laugh. "But I knew perfectly well that it was for the best. That 'no' is a very good 'no.' So you just do as you're told!"