The Duke of Cambridge has opened up about the importance of family during his royal visit to Scotland on Saturday. The 38-year-old joined the emergency service heroes to watch the Scottish Cup Final at The Cold House in Edinburgh, where he spoke to first responders and their families who had faced trauma to say thanks for their hard work.
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WATCH: Prince William delivers powerful statement regarding Panorama's failings
Speaking to a table of first responders, the royal asked how they had kept in touch with families during lockdown. William said: "The funny thing is when I spoke to my family I found it so good to catch up but then you haven't anything to catch up on because no one had done anything."
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When one guest said they had not seen their in-laws for a year, the Duke joked: "Some people are quite happy they haven't seen their in-laws for a year." After some laughter, he added: "I love my in-laws."
The comments come days after William criticised the BBC over its Panorama failings and after his brother Prince Harry's fresh revelations against the royal family and his upbringing.
Prince William at the Cold Town House on Saturday
In a video statement, Prince William said that the corporation had "failed my mother".
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He said he found it "extremely concerning" that BBC employees had: "lied and used fake documents to obtain the interview with my mother; made lurid and false claims about the Royal Family which played on her fears and fuelled paranoia; displayed woeful incompetence when investigating complaints and concerns about the programme; and were evasive in their reporting to the media and covered up what they knew from their internal investigation."
The royal added that it was his view that the "deceitful way" that the interview had been conducted had influenced what Princess Diana had said and ultimately "was a major contribution to making my parents' relationship worse."
"It brings indescribable sadness to know that the BBC's failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation that I remember from those final years with her," he said.
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