William praises Catherine, saying 'our family couldn't cope' without her

The Prince of Wales has said his family "couldn't cope without" his wife and he felt "very proud" of Catherine for completing her first official international trip recently since her cancer diagnosis.

"She's an amazing mum, an amazing wife, and literally our family couldn't cope without her," he told Heart Radio's breakfast show, broadcast from the Isles of Scilly.

He said the princess returned "buzzing" from her trip to Italy, where she was promoting the importance of early years education.

Prince William visited Scilly on Friday to officially open a new hospital facility and to view the construction site of 10 new sustainable homes being delivered by the Duchy of Cornwall.

Catherine is "edging herself back" into doing more overseas visits following her cancer treatment, the prince said.

However, he cautioned that royal trips take their toll, so the Royal Family have to "make sure she's OK and rested".

"She's been through so much in the last couple of years, particularly. She'd been looking forward to the Italian trip a lot, and so I'm really glad it went really well," he added.

The princess received an enthusiastic welcome from crowds in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia.

The city was chosen as the destination for her trip because of its support for children's first years and its emphasis on early relationships and learning through play.

"She wanted to go and do lots of research; she spends God knows how much time now looking through all the paperwork," William said.

"She's a proper pro on early years, and so most evenings I'm fighting to get past in the bedroom… all the paperwork that she's got lined up ready to read," he added.

In January of last year, Catherine said that she was in remission from cancer, which had been diagnosed in 2024.

Speaking about the new hospital facility he was opening, Prince William told Heart: " A lot of the time people have to go to the mainland, and the cost for them - it's a nightmare."

He added that he was "really looking forward to seeing how the hospital's expanded and having maternity services here now".

The prince's trip follows the announcement earlier this week that the Duchy of Cornwall would be selling 20% of its assets to reinvest in housing and nature projects over the next decade.

He viewed the construction site of 10 new sustainable homes being delivered by the Duchy of Cornwal, with the aim of tackling housing pressures and supporting the local workforce to remain on the island.

They will be prioritised for people who have lived on the islands for more than five years or who currently work there.

During his wide-ranging radio interview, William spoke of his childhood memories of the Isles of Scilly and joked about doing the school run, saying his youngest child - Prince Louis - will "leave jam fingerprints throughout the car, which is really helpful".

He also weighed in on the cream tea debate, which remains a fierce culinary divide between Devon and Cornwall - pitting the tradition of spreading cream first (Devonian) against the practice of starting with a layer of jam (Cornish).

William revealed he had his scones the Devonian way - layering clotted cream first followed by jam.

"I learned from my grandmother, and she would definitely, she would have the cream on first," he said.