Prince William said he will teach his children that "some of us are very fortunate" even as Prince Harry is separately accused of "whining" despite his privilege.
The Prince of Wales is on the cusp of launching a major project to tackle homelessness in Britain and gave an interview to The Sunday Times.
William took the opportunity to issue a defense of the monarchy based on the good causes the royal family support.
He did not mention Harry and Meghan Markle, though the two comments together cut to the heart of recent criticisms made of the couple.
The future king said: "We're all very busy and I think it's hard sometimes to see what the family bring and what we do.
"But the amount of causes, the interests, the dinners, the meetings, the visits, whatever it is, that we do, day in, day out, throughout the year, we've always been involved in that. It's part of what we do.
"It's trying to spotlight other causes, other people, other interests, and help people where we can. We'll continue to do that."
Eric Schiffer, head of Reputation Management Consultants, is among PR experts to have told Newsweek in the last six months that Harry and Meghan need to return to the positive charity work that characterized their time as working royals.
William also described teaching Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis about homelessness, including when they pass people sleeping rough outside supermarkets.
He said: "They [will] grow up knowing that actually, do you know what, some of us are very fortunate, some of us need a little bit of a helping hand, some of us need to do a bit more where we can to help others improve their lives."
Harry and Meghan's repeated criticisms of the royal family have led to allegations they "complain" or "whine" despite being extremely privileged.
Bill Simmons, head of podcast innovation and monetization at Spotify, said in January 2022 of Harry: "I'm so tired of this guy. What does he bring to the table?
"He just whines about s*** and keeps giving interviews. Who gives a s***? Who cares about your life? You weren't even the favorite son.
"You live in f****** Montecito and you just sell documentaries and podcasts and nobody cares what you have to say about anything unless you talk about the royal family and you just complain about them."
When Harry and Meghan's Spotify deal collapsed, Simmons called them "f****** grifters," though he is not the only one to have had strong words to say about the pair.
TV personality and singer Kelly Osbourne recently told the I've Had It podcast: "I think Harry is a f****** twat. I do. I think he's a f****** twat.
"He's a whining, whingeing, complaining, 'woe is me, I'm the only one that's ever had mental problems'…'my life was so hard'…Everybody's f****** life is hard!
"You were the prince of a goddamn country, who dressed up as a f****** Nazi, and now you're trying to come back as the pope? Suck it."
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more
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