Charles Not Speaking With William After His Son’s Public ‘Betrayal’ to the ‘Crown’—The ‘Trust Is Shattered’
There’s no doubt that, once Prince William is King, things will be different in the British royal family. The heir to the throne has been open about his desire to modernize the monarchy in many ways, which include the pomp and circumstance and even the number of people who are considered working royals. But for now, King Charles is in charge and he makes the decisions. Which is reportedly where the latest issue between father and son comes from.
According to Rob Shuter’s ShuterScoop, the King is not happy about Prince William’s Apple TV+ interview with Eugene Levy for his series The Reluctant Traveler. The King is said to be particularly upset about William’s remarks about his childhood, to the point that the relationship has “collapsed into silence” with the pair not communicating in any way right now.
Related: Here’s what each royal inherited from Queen Elizabeth
While speaking about Prince George one day taking the throne, Prince William said, “I hope we don’t go back to some of the practices in the past that Harry and I had to grow up in – and I’ll do everything I can to make sure we don’t regress in that situation.” He also spoke about upcoming changes in the monarchy when he’s king, saying, “I think it’s safe to say that change is on my agenda. Change for good. And I embrace that and I enjoy that change—I don’t fear it. That’s the bit that excites me, is the idea of being able to bring some change. Not overly radical change, but changes that I think that need to happen.”
That apparently didn’t go over well with King Charles, with a source saying, “The King sees it as betrayal, not honesty.” Another one added, “It’s not just family tension—it’s about the Crown itself.”
Of course, since the King and the heir to the throne pretty much need to get along, a PR “peace walk” is reportedly being planned, but sources also indicated that at this point “trust is shattered” between the two, so there’s no saying how that will go.
Reports about father and son’s strained relationship have been everywhere of late. The Daily Beast reported from an insider that their relationship is “tense, difficult, formal, and fraught,” and that “the vast majority of their communication is mediated by their private secretaries.”
The problem seems to be how the two view the monarchy. One staffer even told the outlet that just recently, Prince William wasn’t too pleased to attend Pope Francis’ funeral because he didn’t want to miss a soccer match, and he also didn’t want to participate in VJ Day ceremonies. “Both absolutely true,” the former courtier said. “To William, continuing to run the monarchy as though it were still an Edwardian institution feels absurd. To Charles, his son’s more casual approach can feel like a lack of respect for duty and tradition.”
Then there’s the Prince Harry reunion, which Prince William was reportedly not on board with. King Charles and his youngest son ended up meeting anyway.
It looks like King Charles might be mending fences with one of his sons to find himself in a tight spot with the other. Parenthood is just complicated, even for a royal.
