Over the past few months, Prince William has signaled that he’s ready to usher in a fresh look at how the monarchy operates. Sure, his dad, King Charles III, is in charge right now, but the Prince of Wales was already looking ahead to the future. However, the recent health setbacks of his father and his wife, Kate Middleton, are likely to stall William’s royal ambitions for quite some time.
The pivot that the Prince of Wales is going to have to make to keep the monarchy running is probably frustrating for him because he has a very different vision from Charles. “William has tended toward less of the day-to-day routine work of the monarchy, compared to his father, instead focusing on bigger, glitzier engagements,” explained royal historian Ed Owens to The New York Times. “But now he’ll be expected to fill in on many of these more mundane public outings.”
William veered off King Charles’ message last November with his rogue remarks that signaled his intent during his reign. He wants to narrow his focus to “social leadership” and bring change in a meaningful way instead of having hundreds of royal patronages. “You have to remain focused, if you spread yourself too thin you just can’t manage it and you won’t deliver the impact or the change that you really want to happen,” he told the print media during his Singapore tour, via Roya Nikkhah, Royal Editor of The Sunday Times on X.
Some of the Prince of Wales’ pet projects include helping the unhoused and his Earthshot Prize Awards. He would prefer not to be handling “ribbon-cuttings and other ceremonial duties.” With Charles out of commission for some time, it looks like William is going to have to pick up the slack. “William was trying to explore the boundaries of what he could do as heir that he couldn’t do as king,” former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt told The New York Times. “The tension is how to pursue his own activities while supporting the monarch. William is going to feel that at an earlier stage than his father did.”
With the thinned-out royal ranks, the burden falls on a few senior royals to represent the palace and right now, Prince William is that shining star. He’s going to draw the most headlines while Kate and Charles are recovering, but the Prince of Wales is going to get stuck in quite a few royal engagements he would normally decline.
Before you go, click here to find out which tell-all books expose major royal family secrets.
Leave a Comment