THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES: TOP OUR KINDNESS POLL AS WE HEAR HOW THEIR WARM GESTURES HAVE TOUCHED LIVES

AS WILLIAM OPENS UP ABOUT A 'BRUTAL' YEAR

- TRACY SCHAVERIEN & DANIELLE STACEY

Opening up like never before about the difficult year he and his family have endured, an emotional Prince of Wales has admitted that it has been the toughest of his life as his wife the Princess and his father the King both recover from cancer.

“It’s been dreadful,” Prince William said in an extraordinarily candid interview. “It’s probably been the hardest year in my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.

“But I’m so proud of my wife, and I’m proud of my father, for handling the things they have done. But from a personal, family point of view, yes, it’s been brutal.”

William’s remarkably frank admission at the end of his visit to South Africa for his Earthshot Prize Awards comes as he and Kate continue to lean on one another, appearing more united and resilient than ever after the challenges of recent months.

As they look forward to a better year ahead, William confirmed that Kate plans to work more and start travelling again, as hello! reported last week, saying: “She is doing well. I think hopefully Catherine will be doing a bit more next year, so we’ll maybe have some more trips lined up.”

Kindness – something Kate has previously said the couple strive to teach their children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and six-year-old Prince Louis – will continue to be at the heart of everything the couple do.

“And I’m going to throw empathy in there as well, because I really care about what I do,” William said. “It helps impact people’s lives, and I think we could do with some more empathetic leadership around the world.

“So that’s what I’m trying to bring; that’s what Catherine is trying to bring as well.”

His comments come as two new hello! polls voted William and Kate, both 42, the kindest members of the royal family.