Prince William wants children to grow up in 'normal environment'

Prince William has talked candidly about trying to raise his children in a "normal environment" in a new interview.

The Duke of Cambridge spoke about his family in an interview with Alastair Campbell for British GQ, saying how much he wishes his mother, Princess Diana, had lived to meet wife Kate and their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

"I could not do my job without the stability of the family," he said. "Stability at home is so important to me.

"I want to bring up my children in a happy, stable, secure world and that is so important to both of us as parents.

"I want George to grow up in a real, living environment, I don't want him growing up behind palace walls, he has to be out there.

"The media make it harder but I will fight for them to have a normal life."

The Prince gave the interview to promote the Heads Together campaign, which aims to break the stigma attached to mental health and wellbeing.

"Smashing the taboo is our biggest aim," he said. "We cannot go anywhere much until that is done.

"People can't access services till they feel less ashamed, so we must tackle the taboo, the stigma; for goodness sake this is the 21st century.

"I've been really shocked how many people live in fear and in silence because of their mental illness. I just don't understand it."

Prince William also opened up about his mother in the interview for the magazine's July edition.

"I would like to have had her advice. I would love her to have met Catherine and to have seen the children grow up.

"It makes me sad that she won't, that they will never know her.

"I am in a better place about it than I have been for a long time, where I can talk about her more openly, talk about her more honestly, and I can remember her better, and publicly talk about her better.

"It has taken me almost 20 years to get to that stage. I still find it difficult now because at the time it was so raw. And also it is not like most people's grief, because everyone else knows about it, everyone knows the story, everyone knows her."