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Prince William rejects criticism he is ‘work shy’

On June 13, 2015, Britain’s Prince William holds his son Prince George, with Queen Elizabeth II, right, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and the Prince of Wales during the Trooping The Colour parade at Buckingham Palace in London. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth celebrates her 90th birthday on Thursday, April 21, 2016. (Tim Ireland / Associated Press)
From wire reports

Prince William has rejected criticism that he doesn’t put enough time into royal duties in interviews before Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday on Thursday.

Dismissing the moniker of “work-shy William,” the second-in-line to the throne said in an interview broadcast Wednesday that he’s balancing his royal duties with those of a husband, father and air ambulance pilot. William said when the queen is ready to hand over tasks, he’ll be the “first person to accept them.”

“I think, in the queen I have an extraordinary example of somebody who’s done an enormous amount of good and she’s probably the best role model I could have in front of me,” he told the BBC.

In another interview with Sky News, he offers tribute to the queen and credits her with helping him through the loss of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

William was asked if his son, George, has any sense yet that he’s not part of an ordinary family – whether William and his wife, the former Kate Middleton, have begun to prepare him to accept the fact that he’s in the line of succession.

“Well, as far as we’re concerned, within our family unit we are a normal family,” William said. “I love my children the same way any father does, and I hope George loves me the same way any son does to his father, so we are very normal in that sense.

“There’ll be a time and a place to bring George up and understand how he fits in the world, but right now it’s just a case of keeping a secure, stable environment around him and showing him as much love as I can as a father.”

Fox’s Stossel treated for cancer

Fox News personality John Stossel said he is being treated for lung cancer.

In a commentary posted on the Fox News website Wednesday, Stossel wrote that his doctors have told him his cancer was “caught early” and that he’ll be “fine.” He said one-fifth of a lung was removed, but said he was told that soon he would “barely notice” the loss.

Stossel appears on Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.

The birthday bunch

Actor Charles Grodin is 81. Singer Iggy Pop is 69. Actress Patti LuPone is 67. Actor Tony Danza is 65. Actress Andie MacDowell is 58. Singer Robert Smith (The Cure) is 57. Rapper Michael Franti is 50. Singer Glen Hansard is 46. Actor James McAvoy is 37.