‘Hurt’ Charles Also Facing Issues With ‘Insensitive’ William as Harry Feud Progresses Beyond Repair
Jason Pham
Could King Charles’ relationship with Prince William be deteriorating like it has with his other son, Prince Harry?
Ingrid Seward, author of the Charles biography My Mother and I , told Newsweek in June 2025 that Charles is “hurt” by William’s plans to overhaul the crown from how Charles and his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, ran the monarchy once he’s king.
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“This is exactly what William is going to do, he’s going to adapt and I think he’s right to do this. His father hates change, everyone tells me Charles hates change so I don’t think he’ll be 100 percent happy about what William is saying but I think he’d understand,” Seward said. “It probably would have been best unsaid. Maybe these views are a little bit insensitive but its understandable that he should wish to express them.”
News of Charles’ feelings toward William come after sources told The Sunday Times that William wants “an evolution not a revolution” and wants to make sure his reign has “even more impact” than those before him once he takes the throne. William hinted that he plans to run the royal family differently on a visit to South Africa in November 2025. “I’m trying to do it differently and I’m trying to do it for my generation,” he said on the trip. “And to give you more of an understanding around it, I’m doing it with maybe a smaller ‘r’ in the royal, if you like.”
Robert Jobson, author of Catherine, the Princess of Wales: The Biography , told Newsweek, however, that well-wishers shouldn’t be surprised by how much William wants to change Buckingham Palace. “It’s nothing really new. A bit odd his people keep talking about his reign. Normally not the thing to do,” he said. “All monarchs can, and generally do, do things their own way within the constitutional perimeters.”
Charles, for his part, has also expressed his desire to change the monarchy. In 1994, he said in a speech that he wanted to be a “defender of faiths, rather than a “defender of the faith,” referring to just Christianity.
While Charles is “hurt” by William, the Prince of Wales also seems to share negative feelings toward his father. A source told the Daily Beast in June 2025 that William has a desire to investigate how his father ran the monarchy once he’s king and plans to “take every stone and look underneath it.” “[He’s been] planning for his role as monarch and shaping the institution he will one day lead,” the insider said.
As for what he plans to change specifically, a source told The Sunday Times that William wants to do away with the medieval costume part of the monarchy and thought the coronation garb Charles wore the day he became king as a “ridiculous thing that looks like it’s out of Disney.”
“This is exactly the kind of medieval cosplay William thinks is ridiculous. He understands and respects tradition, but this kind of event is hardly telegraphing a monarchy which is modern and relevant,” a source also told the Daily Beast.
Along with different fashion choices, the Daily Beast also reported that William’s uncle, Prince Edward, and his wife, Sophie, are set to get a promotion under his reign. Issues between William and Charles also come amid their respective fallouts with Harry.
Royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News in May 2025 that Harry and Charles’ relationship is beyond repair after Harry gave an interview to the BBC about his father’s cancer diagnosis after losing a court case over his royal security. “King Charles sees his wayward son’s approach to detailing private family disputes in interviews, books, and on television as in direct violation of not just royal norms but undignified and contrary to all basic decency,” Fordwich said.
Fordwich, who added that Harry has “burned bridges” since he and his wife Meghan Markle moved to the United States, also gave insight to how much Harry has become unpopular by the British public. “He is oblivious to the fact that his privileged upbringing was a blessing compared with most,” Fordwich claimed. “His behavior is causing irreparable harm nationally, as he was once much loved and second in popularity only to his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II,” she said. “He doesn’t serve his country, he only serves himself. That is abhorrent to all the British and British values.”
