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In his chat with Eugene Levy, Prince William reflected on the California wildfires of early 2025The Prince of Wales shared his own experience with a devastating fire, recounting how it felt to watch the infamous Windsor Castle fire of November 1992 on televisionPrince Harry and Meghan Markle provided aid to their fellow Californians following the Palisades and Eaton fires
Prince William shared a personal anecdote with Eugene Levy after the actor was affected by the California wildfires earlier this year.
During the Prince of Wales’ appearance on the Apple TV series The Reluctant Traveler, Levy shared how his Pacific Palisades home was leveled amid the January 2025 wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles.
Levy evacuated his home on Jan. 7 and described what the scene was like to the L.A. Times.
“The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon,” he said at the time. “I couldn’t see any flames, but the smoke was very dark.”
With William, the Schitt’s Creek star reflected on how quickly the traumatic loss happened, as the southern California winds were blowing over 100 miles per hour amid the ravaging fires.
“It was like a horror movie in a way, right?” Levy recalled. “Evacuation notices went out, and we were packing up and getting out. Maybe three hours later, [we] got news the place was gone.”
Prince William and Eugene Levy on ‘The Reluctant Traveler’.
Ian Gavan/Apple TV+
The destruction of a beloved family home was relatable for Prince William, who recounted his own experience watching the infamous Windsor Castle fire of November 1992 on television.
“I still remember, I was having my dinner at home in Gloucestershire with my mother,” the prince said. “And I saw my father on television with my grandparents, taking everything out of the castle. It was all over the news at the time.”
Just 10 years old at the time, William recalled watching his grandmother and grandfather, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, as well as his father, King Charles, and his aunts and uncles, creating “a sort of human chain, taking stuff out of the castle as quickly as they could.”
At such a young age, Prince William admitted, “At the time you’re watching it, also when it’s on television, you feel it’s a film. It kind of doesn’t feel real.”
“You recognize people on there, doing things that probably it was difficult to do,” he continued.
Windsor Castle fire in 1992.
THIERRY SALIOU/AFP via Getty
While showing Levy the burn scars that remain in Windsor Castle, the Prince of Wales admitted he felt the same way while watching the recent wildfires ravage southern California, just a few years after his brother, Prince Harry, moved there with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
“Over here, we were watching,” he said. “The winds just looked, I mean, terrifyingly fast.”
He told Levy, “I’m so sorry for you and everyone who’s lost their house.”
The Canadian actor and comedian thanked the prince for his compassion, noting, “It doesn’t matter, in a castle or a bungalow, the pain is still there.”
While Meghan and Harry were not forced to evacuate their home in Montecito, a Santa Barbara enclave, during the January 2025 fires, they did open their home to friends and loved ones fleeing the Palisades and Eaton fires, PEOPLE confirmed at the time.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex later visited victims and distributed supplies in Southern California and paid tribute to the firefighters who helped battle the devastating blazes.
Meghan also included a special message in the second season of her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, which premiered on Aug. 26, 2025. The season’s penultimate episode, which was shot in an area of Los Angeles County, included a special tribute statement.
“This episode, filmed in the heart of Malibu, is dedicated to the first responders and all those affected by the devastating fires that swept through communities across California in early 2025. With love, to all our neighbors,” the statement said.
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Prince William echoed similar positive sentiments while speaking with Levy about recovering from their respective fires.
“This is the thing for me: this is such a positive story, to see what can be rebuilt. It’s incredible, you know?” he said. “People walking around here after the first few weeks were looking at this and going, ‘How?’ and ‘This is never going to come back.’ And now look at it.”