Full transcript of Princes William and Harry's July 5th interview with Fearne Cotton

Earlier this summer Radio Times condensed transcript of Fearne Cotton's pre-concert interview with Princes William and Harry was posted here. Now, with many thanks to Royal Forum member chickadee who posted the link to the video (which can be viewed here), here is the full transcript of that July 5th interview.

Fearne Cotton: William, Harry it’s brilliant to meet you and it’s so exciting to talk to you about the concert you’re holding for your mother. You must be so excited it’s happening on Sunday.

Prince William: Yeah, exactly. We’re very, very excited. We’ve both been looking forward to it for a very long time. And, um, just, ah, sort of want to get everyone in the mood, um, basically have a really cracking night and make sure it’s good fun.

Cotton: Why do you think it’s important for you to hold a concert for your mother, you know, what made the concert part of it seem right?

William: We both sort of chatted about it for quite a long time before and we didn’t want this year to go by, um, 10 years since she died, without anything truly significant happening. And we both sort of thought a service on itself, a memorial service, wouldn’t be, um, quite fitting enough, you know? We wanted something that would really sort of bring her whole, sort of, her--her joy of life and everything we thought she stood for. A bit more to the point and a concert with this magnitude we thought would really bring it out and balance with the service. It will be a wonderful way to remember her.

Cotton: How did you initially come up with the idea? Did you both sort of sit down together and brainstorm it?

Prince Harry: No, it wasn’t really much brainstorming needed. It was a case of we always wanted to put on a concert and, um, the 10th anniversary of our mother’s death was always the perfect opportunity to do it. And it just sort of came to us really.

William: I’d like to claim it was mine, really.

Cotton: (Laughs)

Harry: Of course.

William: You can say otherwise.

Cotton: It’s quite a huge thing to be doing though putting on a concert of this magnitude as you said. Is that not quite a nerve-racking prospect?

William: Yeah, just a bit. (Laughs)

Harry: Well, it’s very--

William: If something goes wrong--

Harry: If something goes wrong then it will be a very nerve-racking but no, it’s--there’s a lot to look forward to. Everyone will have an amazing night and it’s easy to say that we’re nervous before hand but, I think at the end of the day, hopefully, it’s going to be a really, really amazing evening. And then at the end if we bump into you, you can ask us again if we were--

William: We’ll probably be gibbering wrecks by then.

Cotton: (Laughs) Do you think you have a touch of the Bob Geldofs about you?

William: (Laughs) I hope not.

Harry: (Points to William) Him maybe, but not me.

William: I don’ know about that. Maybe (points to Harry) he can be a ginger Bob Geldof.

Cotton: (Laughs) So you’re dad obviously has put on a lot of concerts for the Princes Trust. Has he given you any advice on how you should, sort of, set up and organize that sort of event?

William: He’s useless at that sort of things. He hasn’t got any clue of how to do things. No, no. He’s done plenty of really good ones for the Princes Trust but we specifically didn’t want to do just another concert like he’s done or like anyone’s done. We wanted to add things like the English National Ballet, um, Andrew Lloyd Webber's brilliant sort of musicals. We wanted to add that dance factor because she loved her dancing so much and it played a massive part of her life. It was a real, sort of, way that she got through life, by dancing. And her music played a massive part. And we just wanted it to be not a concert, but with the dancing and the concert put together, just that slight little bit of an edge that you don’t normally get in a concert.

Cotton: So let’s talk about the line up because it is really varied and you’ve got some amazing acts there. You’ve got people like Kanye West and Pharrell. Then you have got that mix of the dance in the middle of it and Elton John and stuff. So is it a real true mix of who you like and who your mother Diana liked?

William: It’s trying to find a balance of, you know, you’ve got sort of Hip-hop here, dance, you know, classical, ballet, you know, there’s a massive range of genres there. And it was just trying to pick the right people that we sort of felt, not only that we liked but also that she would probably like if she was still alive. That’s the kinda the way we went about it.

Cotton: And what other members of the royal family will be there?

William: Um, purely young. All senior members are banned so—

Cotton: (Laughs) Have you banned them all? They’re not coming.

William: They’re not allowed to come. It’s a young event. But hopefully all our cousins will come. And, um, yeah, I suppose--we’re still in the middle of doing the sort of ticket allocations so if they’re really nice to us we’ll see who comes along.

Cotton: Are you saving any tickets for your mates?

William: Uh, a few.

Harry: A few here and there, yeah. A select few out of a hat.

Cotton: So on the day will you actually be getting up on stage at all, just kind of introduce a band or--?

William: Well, this is something that got briefed to us awhile ago and it was sort of, “Um, really? You’re sure?” And, um, I think we might be.

Cotton: Is that terrifying.

Harry: Well we sort of--we sort of put our hands up. We offered, saying-- well, I offered--and then I think he sort of offered saying, you know, if you want us to sort of get on, introduce a band and get off again that’s fine we’ll do that. But then all the sudden, sort of, maybe it would be sort of more fun to give a shout out for all those people here, there and in Iraq etcetera. So, I don’t know, it depends. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.

William: We’re definitely going to be up at some point giving, sort of, speeches saying thank you to everyone, really. But, um, yeah, when we did it, it wasn’t something we weren’t really contemplating on and now it’s come and suddenly like, “Ah! Okay. 65,000 people at Wembley and God knows how many people watching on television.

Cotton: That’s when you get to ask the infamous words, “Hello Wembley.”

William: Well, yeah, that is true.

Cotton: Think about that, that’s going to be incredible. Will there be a Mexican wave?

William: There could be a wave—

Harry: Or just total silence. Booing. People throwing tomatoes.

William: Or I could mumble into the microphone “Hel-low Wem-b-ley”, it won’t come out right and it’ll sound—ugh.

Cotton: It’s going to be fantastic. Now, William. You and I are around the same age. And I grew up trying desperately to learn a lot of the lyrics to the Spice Girl’s rap, um, and dancing around the front room to those sort of songs.

William: (Laughs) I wouldn’t have admitted to that. I really wouldn’t.

Cotton: I know I shouldn’t have done it. What sort of music were you listening to when you were growing up?

William: Um, well I’ve listen to, I mean, well, my music tastes have changed so much over the years. Um, I’d like to say I was really into sort of rap and hip-hop when I was tiny but I wasn’t. Um, I sort of started off with just normal, like poppy songs, you know, and stuff like that. Chart toppers. Um, and it has gone through stuff like dance music, um, I quite like a lot of rock now. Um, I like sort of good old fashioned bands. Um, and then, I don’t know, there’s a slight, probably, I don’t know, manifests into me getting older and being into Classical music. God forbid. One day I’ll probably listen to Classical FM probably. But, um, it’s um, yeah; it’s something I love. I adore music.

Cotton: And Harry, how about you and you’re growing up? Have you got sort of similar tastes?

Harry: Um, sort of. I listen to more of the radio than anything else. It’s always—then you don’t have to go out and buy the records, just listen to the tunes on the radio. Chris More is a big fan. I like him a lot.

Cotton: He’s great, isn’t he?

William: Obviously you might want to mention Fearne. She’s also a—

Cotton: I’ve got my own radio show.

Harry: Obviously, I know. We already talked about that. It becomes awkward. But yeah, I’ll listen to anything depending on what mood I’m in and where I am and what I’m doing. (Points to William) It’s a lot better than his rubbish.

Cotton: Where there arguments growing up about who played what in the house stroke palace?

William: Usually. “House stroke palace.” (Laughs)

Harry: “House stroke palace.” (Smiles)

William: Well, at home, which is a palace, we basically just, it was always sort of, like one would be in his bedroom playing music and he could hear the other one. So he’d turn his up slightly louder and then the other would turn his up louder. And before you know it our father coming upstairs and telling us to shut the hell up.

Harry: Or he’d break into a bit of MC ing.

William: Yes, I don’t remember any of that happening. Maybe he did.

Cotton: (Laughs) And your father is more into Jazz, is that right?

William: Well he likes--we don’t really know what sorts of music he likes.

Harry: He likes all sorts of stuff.

William: Yeah, it’s pretty weird.

Harry: He loves his old-school music.

Cotton: Do you try to introduce him to new bands and what’s going on in the scene these days?

William: Well, it’s quite funny because when he has the things like Party in the Park and Princes Trust things we always try to ask him who’s coming. And the funniest thing is he goes—he gets people’s names wrong. Like, “There’s Be-yonce.” You know, things like that. It’s just—it’s hilarious try to actually educate him slightly on what the hell he’s talking about. ‘Cause bless him, he’s a dear old father but as far as his music taste goes--.

Cotton: And your mother was obviously a huge music fan but what artists did she actually really listen to in life? You know that she was friends with Sir Elton John and George Michael but who did she really like listening to?

William: She loved exactly the people who are coming, really. Sir Elton, George Michael and she loved Supertramp, um, she love Michael Jackson, um, Tina Turner, Bryan Addams. All, sort of, that big name era. She loved it. And we used to catch her dancing to all her music and stuff like that. And sort of walk out the room rather embarrassed that our mother was dancing around the rooms and that. But she—it was a big sort of release for her and so she had many artists she loved listening too.

Cotton: Now when you were growing up was there ever a certain point when you realized that your lives were slightly different and that you were princes and had a duty?

William: (Snorts) I still don’t think we’ve realized that.

Harry: We’re waiting.

William: We’re waiting for the penny to drop one day. No I don’t think, I don’t really, um, see ourselves like that at all. Both of us just want to, you know, to be who we are and to be, I don’t know, just look after people and do stuff like that. But in terms of what we are we never really sit down and think about stuff like that. You just, you know, get on with stuff.

Cotton: And how was university lie? Did you lead quite a normal student life?

William: It was so hedonist, like, I couldn’t possibly tell you that. It was crazy where I was. Um, I was, no, St. Andrews was really great fun. I had a good time. Probably didn’t venture fully into it like I should have done.

Cotton: ‘Cause my brother goes to University and it’s quite a lot of soap watching and, sort of—

William: Daytime TV.

Cotton: Yeah, daytime TV and bad food eating.

William: Yeah, lots of that.

Cotton: Was that part of it?

William: Yeah, there was a lot of that. Although in our house we were quite good. In the first--in Halls you had great Halls food. And then, you know, in the last 3 years when I lived out of Halls we had some, some, um, fine cooking for all the housemates. Yeah.

Cotton: Can you cook yourself?

William: (Shakes head) Useless. I can do a really good breakfast. And a couple of steaks. All the stuff the stuff you can do out of the George Foreman grilling machine.

Cotton: Love it.

William: Great plug for that. Eh, and, uh—

Cotton: You get a free one.

William: Yeah, I get a free one now. But, um, yeah, it was good fun. Really enjoyed it.

Cotton: You much of a cook, Harry?

Harry: Uh, scrambled eggs and bacon. That’s about it.

Cotton: Sounds good.

Harry: That’s about as far as I stretch I think.

Cotton: That’s all you need.

Harry: I do make a lethal scrambled egg so—

Cotton: Lovely.

William: When you offer it up to people it’s quite nice.

Harry: Yeah, well, don’t --indistinguishable—feed much.

Cotton: But you have got pretty hectic lives right now. You’ve got full-time jobs, the charity thing, overseeing and organizing this huge concert. Do you get any time to yourselves, like, free time?

Harry: Yeah, we get masses of free time and it’s so nice just to sort of be out of the media glare, if you know what I mean? And just, sort of, hide away somewhere with our friends, with our close friends, and do what we normally do which most of the world doesn’t know about so we can just do our own thing. Which is nice.

Cotton: Would you say you have pretty normal social lives?

William: Um, yeah, pretty normal. In the fact that we like going out and doing normal things. You can’t really have a social life that’s on a, I don’t know, Fiddy Cent scale, cause that’s just not what we do. We much prefer going for a quite drink in a pub or just seeing friends and just chilling out away from all the stuff you have to think about in public.

Cotton: Is there a sort of freedom for spontaneity? To say, “Right, I’m going to go out tonight” and then just go on and do it?

Harry: Yeah, sometimes it’s better that way.

William: Yeah, exactly.

Harry: Because if you organize something in advance then before you know it there’s 20, 30, people--the horrible people that know about it--and then you find yourself in a tricky situation. But yeah there’s spontaneity at home in the country as well. Which is so much nicer because we’re left alone. It’s much quieter. But we don’t want to sound as though we’re whinging so—

William: But you are.

Harry: But I am.

William: You’re having your whinge. That’s all right, I won’t stop you. Do you want to carry on?

Harry: No.

William: Fearne’s here all day.

Cotton: I’m just here to listen to you Harry. How do you find the whole media glare and living under that speculation?

William: Um, it’s not easy. Mainly just the rubbish that they write that’s the hardest thing about it. It’s not only hurtful—everyone forgets—it’s not really, sort of, us ‘cause we—we’re always going to live with it therefore we deal with it very well. But it’s our friends and the other people who were brought into it suddenly, for either true or false reasons who are the real—they get the real sudden, like, “What the hell’s going on?” And their lives get turned upside down and things like that. That’s where it becomes, you know, quite hard. But at the end of the day, you know, there’s plenty of other people who have worse problems then we have and we just get on with it and deal with it as best we can.

Cotton: Do you read any of the papers and think, “That is absolute rubbish.” Is any of it ever true?

Harry: Uhh, everyday. (Laughs)

William: Plenty of times, yeah.

Cotton: Now this concert is going to be incredible on Sunday. What do you think it would actually have meant to your mother?

William: Well, she probably wouldn’t believe we were doing it actually. She’s probably think we were too disorganized and, um, useless to get round to doing it. But hopefully it will be one of those things that she would absolutely adore. Because the whole point is, is that this is for her. It’s not for any other reason. We want this year to go by and people to go, “Yes, now I remember all those good things she did.” Because after ten years there’s been a sort of, a rumbling of people bringing up the bad. And over time people seem to forget, or have forgotten, about all of the amazing things she did and what an amazing person she was. And we felt that this was the best way of bringing that back to life and letting people remember all the good things about her. Because she’s not here to defend herself when she gets criticized. And so we wanted to do that instead and this was the best way of us getting that across to people.

Cotton: I suppose that everyone has got their own memory of your mother. Their own image or belief on how she lived and what she was like. What was the real Diana like as a real person?

William: She was wonderful and sadly there’s no amount of words that either Harry or I could tell you know that would actually portray that. You’d have to meet her to really understand her. And you ask people who have met her and they’ll tell you just how amazing she was. And for us we were so lucky to have her as our mother. And we, you know, there’s not a day goes past that we don’t, sort of, you know, think of her and miss her influence. Because, you know, she was a massive example to both of us and it’s one of those things that’s very sad but, you know, you learn to deal with it and there’s plenty of other people out there who’ve got the same or worse problems that we’ve had, so—

Harry: The nicest thing, the fact that she was our mother, she had her public side and she had her private side. And the private side was very small in comparison to the public side obviously. You know, the memories that we’ve got of her—we’re very lucky to have those memories ‘cause they’re so—they’re private—between us. And that’s the nicest thing about it, you know. You see her get slatted for such-and-such but the personal memories that we have of her are very much private. And that’s hopefully where it will always be.

Cotton: I know that my mother has taught me to, kind of, go out there and get what I want and not let things get in my way. I can tell obviously the you’ve been heavily influenced by your mother, she’s made a huge impact on your lives, with your charity work and your beliefs. Why do you think she was so inspiring to you?

William: Because she did everything she felt was right and was what she wanted to do. She didn’t just go by what she thought was the best thing to do or be told to do something. She did it from the heart. And fully immersed herself into it. And she cared. She cared massively. We’d be left in no doubt at all that we were the most important things in her life and after that it was everyone else. It was all her charities everything like that. And to me that’s a really good philosophy that she loved caring for people and she loved helping. And both of us, sort of, really glad that we’re able to feel that.

Cotton: How do you think you’ like her to be remembered by the public?

Harry: As a happy, fun, bubbly person who cared for so many people. She put everybody first and herself very much last and she was the most caring person—yeah, she was our mother so of course we’d say that—as I’m sure everyone else would say about their mother. Really caring and so sweet and very much missed, not only by us but I think, a lot of people. And I think that’s all that needs to be said really.

Cotton: Do you think the concert will really put that across?

Harry: Oh, I hope so.

William: I hope so.

Harry: It’s the perfect opportunity to celebrate her life with a concert with music and people smiling and having fun—hopefully, which is what they’re going to be doing—and waving their arms in the air . . . like they just don’t care.

William: I was just about to say that. The second bit.

Harry: Um, it’s, you know, I don’t think there’s any better way to celebrate her life really so--.

Cotton: Well, chaps, this is going to be such a great concert on Sunday. Are you nervous? Are you excited? What’s your overwhelming, kind of, feeling towards it?

William: Um, yeah. Pretty excited. Pretty nervous.

Harry: Nervous to begin with. Then once it’s gong I think we’ll be getting excited. Getting into the mood and

William Getting into some dodgy dance moves.

Cotton: That would be great, I think I’d love that. Is there a party afterwards?

William: At the moment we’re in the process of—

Harry: Small one. Small one.

William: Yeah, there probably will be.

Harry: You might get invited if you’re very lucky.

Cotton: A little party? Yes! I was waiting—indistinguishable—

William: You’ve caught us, yeah, you can come, fine.

Cotton: Thank you. Well, chaps good luck with it. Have and absolutely fantastic time on Sunday. I will be there. I cannot wait. And we’ll watch for those dance moves, William.

William: Definitely watch for them.

Cotton: Thank you.