William’s Subtle Moves to Replace Charles Might’ve Exposed How ‘Weak & Feeble’ the King’s Cancer Has Really Made Him
The expectation had always been, since Queen Elizabeth was alive, that when Charles was King, his reign probably wouldn’t last nearly as long. This was less a reflection on him, and more on the fact that his mother had such a long reign, which meant that King Charles became King so old. News of the King’s cancer diagnosis meant not only did the British Royal Family had to plan for a possible succession, but that Prince William had to start stepping up in his duties now. And some of that was on display during the funeral of Pope Francis, according to a royal expert.
“William did extremely well at [the reopening of] Notre Dame, leading the British contingent. And in Rome, he joined Trump and Macron and Zelensky, so he’s right up there with the big boys, as it were,” Hugo Vickers told Page Six.
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The protocol dictated that Prince William would be the one to attend the funeral, not King Charles. But it’s less about the fact that he attended and more about how he behaved while he was there, which to Vickers proves he’s being “groomed” for his future role. “It’s natural we would see this happen,” he added. “Is he ready? Is anyone ever ready? He’s got a lot on his plate. His wife is not perfectly well, as we know, and I feel very anxious for him — he has small children and all the things he has to do as the Prince of Wales.”
“It’s always the problem – their heir never knows when they are going to become King, but obviously as William’s father is unwell it focuses on that. But [William is] as prepared as he will be,” Vickers also told the outlet. “It looks as though he can cope — which is good because he’ll need to when the time comes.”
Whenever that time comes, reports indicate plans are already in place. “The people I’ve spoken to have said that the succession planning, as they call it, began even before Charles’ diagnosis,” royal author Tom Quinn told Harper’s Bazaar recently. “I mean, he’s the oldest Prince of Wales to become king in history, so succession planning had begun before Charles came to the throne simply because of the age issue.”
Prince William has recently raised some eyebrows by switching lawyers, from Harbottle & Lewis and its partner, Gerrard Tyrrell—the same lawyers his father used—to Mishcon de Reya, which represented Princess Diana in her divorce from Charles. The move led to speculation about his own marriage to Kate Middleton, but reports indicate this decision was more about William looking to separate himself from King Charles.
“William wanted to strike out on his own,” a source told the Daily Mail about the change. “He did not want to continue using his father’s lawyers. It’s as simple as that. He wants to be his own man.”
Considering he and his wife Kate Middleton recently celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary by going back to Scotland, where they met, it seems like the marriage is just fine. And though there are reports that Prince William’s feud with his brother, Prince Harry, will see him deal harshly with him once he’s King, Vickers reflected on how becoming King is almost like becoming a different person.
“Every generation does things differently. People are telling me that William will do things in one way or another, but he probably doesn’t know himself. Although I’m sure he’s got all sorts of ideas about how he may wish to run things,” the author said.
Now, to see if those ideas become a reality for Prince William. Just a few days ago, a friend of the Prince told The Daily Beast, “Charles has completely lost control. It’s apparent that Harry and Meghan have every intention of making his final years a misery, just as he feared they would. Meghan using her HRH exposes how weak and enfeebled he is. She knows he won’t do anything. There is no way King William will stand for this. The titles will simply be removed when he is king. A way will be found.” And if that’s the tone King William would strike, then that would indeed be different.
