Queen in control: Prince William

HE’S the future British king but for now Prince William still does what he’s told by his grandmother.

In a BBC television interview to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the 29-year-old prince has spoken of the monarch’s guidance, direction and determination which has seen her through 60 years on the throne.

William described the Queen and Prince Philip’s visit to Ireland in May 2011, as a “turning point” for the now 85-year-old great-grandmother.

It was the first visit by a reigning British monarch in some 100 years, after Ireland disbanded the British state when King George VI came to rule.

“It’s like a door that’s been locked to her for a long time and she’s been dying to see what’s on the other side of it,” William told the BBC of the Queen’s relationship with the Irish republic.

“Many people won’t understand not being able to go somewhere or see something for your life and being almost like a child not being allowed to go into a certain room.

“For her it’s very much a case of Ireland is sort of off-limits. She always wanted to go in an official capacity so I think it was a huge turning point for her.”

On a lighter note, William recalled his grandmother’s involvement in the lead-up to his April 2011 wedding.

“The first meeting we had post-engagement … I walked into the first meeting and literally got presented with a list of 777 names. And I looked at it and there wasn’t one person on there that I knew and it brought a sort of sense of dread and fear over what was going to happen and who was going to start running the whole day,” said the second-in-line-to-the-throne.

“I sort of said, ‘this is not the way it’s going to be, let’s start again’ and I rang my grandmother up for some clarification on the issue and duly got told that it was ridiculous and I should start with my own friends.”

On another point related to the wedding, William revealed that he didn’t get his own way when it came to his preferred uniform.

“Within the Irish Guards regiments there’s several variants of dress you can wear and I was opting for a different type of dress than the one I wore on the day,” he said.

“So my grandmother very much decided that the red tunic was very smart and the appropriate one for the day, and so I was duly told on that occasion and I did as I was told.”

William also praised the Queen for her adaptability.

“What the Queen has managed to do, she’s managed to bring the monarchy into the 21st Century as best as she can,” William said.

“Every organisation needs to look at itself a lot of the time and the monarchy is a constant, evolving machine and I think it really wants to reflect society, it wants to move with the times and it’s important it does for its own survival.”

The third and final episode of the BBC documentary series, due to be screened in Britain next Monday, speaks with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and touches on the country’s republican movement.