William wants to bring optimism to ‘dreary’ public life, while Kate’s stardust makes her a worthy successor to the mother-in-law she never met: REBECCA ENGLISH and JENNIE BOND take us inside the forever-changed lives of our new Prince and Princess of Wales
William will have more time to focus on his new role now he no longer has to nursemaid his younger brother. His plan? To bring much more optimism to ‘dreary’ public life
By Rebecca English, Royal Editor for the Daily Mail
All eyes may be on our new King and Queen, but another significant change in national life will warrant the public’s attention.
For the first time in more than 60 years, the country has a new Prince and Princess of Wales. In his address to the nation last night, King Charles III announced that William is now officially the Prince of Wales and Kate the Princess of Wales.
And I am told the heir to the throne, as he now is, has a good idea of how he wants to approach his new role.
‘The duke was incredibly close to his grandmother, he looked up to her like no one else. And that service and duty that she epitomised is something that will very much be a characteristic of his future role,’ one source close to William said. ‘He learned from the best.’
The heir to the throne, 40, is very keen on his initiatives, such as the Royal Foundation, and his major project, the Earthshot Prize, and wants to pass them on to his own children when he becomes king one day
Knowing this day would come sooner or later, I spent months talking to William’s inner circle to find out what kind of Prince of Wales he will be.
Practically, of course, the biggest change will be his funding.
He will inherit from his father the £1.2billion Duchy of Cornwall, an estate comprising land holdings and investments, which has kept successive Princes of Wales in small change since the 14th century.
Last year the profits from this, which can now be used by William, amounted to £23million – although Charles always chose to pay tax voluntarily on it. Instead of having to go cap in hand to his father for funding, William will be the master of all he surveys.
The Duchy is one thing on which both William and his father – who have found themselves at loggerheads on many issues over the years – have agreed.
William, 40, has admired his father’s careful stewardship of the estate, and Charles is largely considered to be an excellent landlord by his tenants, setting up hardship funds and keeping a close eye on rents.
Like his father, William is determined to continue to push issues including the environment, mental health and homelessness
William has also spent the last few years ‘future-proofing’ his charitable empire, the Royal Foundation, and ensuring his major project, the Earthshot Prize, is able to operate independently without his day-to-day involvement so that he can take on new affairs of state.
I am told he wants to hand these initiatives on to his own children when he becomes king one day. Like his father, William is determined to continue to push issues including the environment, mental health and homelessness.
‘He will remain very hands-on,’ says a friend. ‘He believes that as Prince of Wales he can continue to make a significant contribution, particularly in the area of housing and homelessness. He knew he needs to tread carefully but he won’t be silent. He’s inherited a lot of his father’s campaigning zeal.
‘He shares his father’s willingness to speak if there’s something he believes in for the long term. The Prince of Wales was ridiculed for his views on climate change and look at him now. William wants to bring that to his own work.’
The friend added: ‘He’s not going to be happy if there’s some big challenge that’s not getting proper attention because of his position he will have to say something. Of course he will be very careful. He doesn’t like courting controversy but he is not afraid of taking risks.’
That doesn’t mean William and Kate will be stomping around the public arena, hectoring and lecturing on any subject that draws their attention.
Despite their desire to speak up on issues they believe in, William and Kate will not be stomping around the public arena, hectoring and lecturing on any subject that draws their attention
A friend said: ‘He knows that he and the duchess are going to have to cover a lot more ground and pick and choose their causes carefully. There are, to put it delicately, significantly fewer members of the Royal Family than there were previously and ten times the need for their help.’
Friends say William is also keen to be defined by a ‘sense of optimism’. ‘He thinks that is the essence of the job of the Royal Family. He and Catherine both feel there’s not a lot of optimism in public life and it can feel pretty dreary at times,’ one former aide tells me.
‘There are some incredible people in our country doing amazing things and they believe it’s their job to counter pessimism and highlight the good.’
But how will they do this with fewer royals in the mix? What about the Duke of York’s eviction from public life and Harry and Meghan’s acrimonious departure. These are blows to their future plans, surely?
‘Clearly it’s not what they had envisaged,’ says one close adviser. Interestingly, much as he loves his cousins, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, William believes they should not have a role in public life.
‘He adores his cousins and values their love and support hugely. He is always telling his team to make sure they are invited to the big occasions and is focused on making sure his team fosters a good relationship with them,’ says a member of his inner circle. ‘But like his father he believes a slimmed down monarchy is the way forward.’
Friends say William is also keen to be defined by a ‘sense of optimism’, which he thinks is the essence of the job of the Royal Family
However, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie are still very much part of the plan moving forward. ‘He has so much respect for his aunt’s diligence and work ethic and is incredibly close to the Wessexes. They are very much part of the future,’ a source confirms.
By the sounds of it, uncle Andrew is very much not part of this plan.
‘Frankly, he would have pushed for things to have happened a lot faster than they did, just like the Prince of Wales would have if they could have operated freely. But it was complicated with the Queen and her son,’ I am told.
It certainly sounds as if William is ready to be Prince of Wales. A former member of his agrees: ‘Absolutely, the mechanisms have been in place for a long time but his head is in the right place now too.
‘A couple of years ago I think it’s fair to say he wouldn’t have been ready. He is now. What has happened this week is so much bigger than anyone can imagine but the households have worked hard to get their houses in order.
‘For a long time the family have been pulling together in the right direction. Family crises can make or break you. The debacle [with Harry and Meghan and Andrew] seems to have made this one.’
The main thing is that William, with the support of his wife, is ready for his new role. Somehow, among the outpouring of grief, the future feels in good hands
Another source adds: ‘When the whole Harry and Meghan show came on the scene in 2018-2019, a lot of time, energy and emotion was spent on his brother. They shared a team, he was trying to help him work through his issues, fighting the media… That has been taken away now.
‘It’s clearly been painful, but William wasn’t spending his time thinking about the future and the work he needed to be getting on with, and now he is.’
For now, of course, William’s focus is on his family and their loss. William still cannot quite believe his grandmother is gone. But he knows there was nothing he wishes he had said, but did not get the chance to.
The main thing is that William, with the support of his wife, is ready for his new role. Somehow, among the outpouring of grief, the future feels in good hands.
With a mixture of refreshing informality and a sprinkling of stardust, KATE will be a worthy successor to the mother-in-law she tragically never got to meet
By Jennie Bond, ex-BBC Royal Correspondent
Not only do we have a new monarch, but after 25 years we also have a new Princess of Wales.
While we all continue to absorb the reality of the Queen’s death, the changes which automatically follow somehow seem equally shocking. Roles are instantly swapped, titles inherited, the hierarchy is altered.
The very words ‘His Majesty’ sound alien to most of us. ‘King Charles’ will take some getting used to.
Now, of course, we have Her Majesty the Queen Consort. And William and Kate have become the Prince and Princess of Wales.
It’s a title Camilla chose not to use, because it was one that had belonged so comprehensively to Diana. Out of respect to the Princess, and because of the part Camilla would acknowledge she had played in the breakdown of Charles and Diana’s marriage, she decided instead to use the title Duchess of Cornwall.
But with the confirmation that Kate is our new Princess of Wales, I’m sure the mother-in-law she never knew would think her a worthy successor.
Not only do we have a new monarch, but after 25 years we also have a new Princess of Wales
Comparisons between the two are, of course, inevitable. Diana was a beautiful woman, tall and willowy — much like Kate. But there was so much more to her than her looks, and that’s true for Kate, too.
Diana was sharp and wily; after her divorce, she remained dedicated to using her platform to effect change, for example by that memorable walk through a minefield in Angola.
Kate has the brains and the profile to do the same — and more. For unlike Diana, Kate enjoyed a gentle transition into royal life. Diana was thrust into her duties with no preparation. She had been born an aristocrat, but was unused to a public platform and the harsh glare of the limelight.
Kate, by contrast, comes from a solid middle-class background and dated her Prince for almost a decade before they married. She shared his student life and formed a strong foundation of friendship with him before either of them committed to a life together.
They even broke up for a while — a mock divorce, if you like — before William came to his senses and snapped up this modest, beautiful young woman who has blossomed into a Princess — and our future Queen.
Comparisons between Kate and Diana are inevitable. Diana was a beautiful woman, tall and willowy — much like Kate. But there was so much more to her than her looks, and that’s true for Kate, too
As Princess of Wales, Diana felt she was left alone to navigate her role without sufficient support. Coming from a broken family, she lacked the comfort of a secure network of parental back-up.
Towards the end of her life, she told me she much preferred to be called Lady Di: ‘I certainly don’t wake up every morning thinking: ‘Yippee, I’m a Princess!’ ‘
Of course, to the world, she was the consummate Princess. And, yes, her shoes will be hard to fill.
From the moment Diana walked down the aisle of St Paul’s Cathedral to marry her Prince, her star quality shone through. Her marriage was declared a ‘fairy tale’ by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and we all bought into the myth.
She had such charisma, even as a shy, young bride. I first saw her in the flesh in 1988 when I reported on her visit to Australia with Charles, a natural star of the royal roadshow. By that time, she was also an accomplished actress, as the truth was that the fairytale marriage was already null and void. But the crowds rushed to see her; Di-mania was rife.
Diana’s success only served to further fuel tensions in her marriage. Charles was jealous of his wife’s popularity and resented playing second fiddle. One of Diana’s constant refrains during our chats was that she and Prince Charles ‘would have been such a great team’. As it was, she made her mark on her own, leading the way in making the monarchy more accessible, more obviously compassionate.
Kate has become hugely popular without dominating the stage or eclipsing her husband. Now a confident, hands-on mother of three, blessed with a happy marriage and a supportive extended family, she’s more than equipped to take on that highly charged title of Princess of Wales and make it her own
How delighted she would have been, then, to see her son part of such a great double act.
During one of our conversations at Kensington Palace, Diana told me that William — then an adolescent — found the burden of kingship weighed heavily on his shoulders. But she was confident he would come to terms with the fact he had no choice over his destiny.
‘William is all right,’ she told me, looking proudly at one of the many framed pictures of her boys that adorned her living room. ‘The country is lucky to have him.’
And how lucky William is to have Kate. With her at his side, he has grown into a confident, mature future King who has shown he is more than willing to shoulder the responsibilities of his role.
William and Kate are a mutually supportive couple who allow one another to take the lead when the focus is on one of their respective causes. They are the team Diana had hoped to be with Charles.
Kate has become hugely popular without dominating the stage or eclipsing her husband. Now a confident, hands-on mother of three, blessed with a happy marriage and a supportive extended family, she’s more than equipped to take on that highly charged title of Princess of Wales and make it her own.
How lucky William is to have Kate. With her at his side, he has grown into a confident, mature future King who has shown he is more than willing to shoulder the responsibilities of his role
Just as Diana did before her, wherever Kate goes, she brings an informality to royal events, crouching down to talk to people in wheelchairs, sitting on the floor to chat with children; touching, hugging and being thoroughly down to earth while still sprinkling a little magical royal stardust.
After her divorce, Diana chose to reduce the number of charities she championed. She wanted to concentrate on the causes she cared about most deeply.
Kate has done that from the start, focusing on issues such as early learning and mental health, which she is passionate about.
On Thursday the world changed. The woman who was such a quiet, calm presence in the very fabric of our national life for 70 years is no longer with us. The stability and continuity she represented has been ruptured. But the line goes on.
During the past few months, as the Queen gradually handed over key responsibilities to her heirs, Kate has shown she has not only grown into her role but has grown with it. She strikes me as full of confidence and with a charm that is quite bewitching.
Kate is loved and admired by our new King and Queen, adored by her husband and popular with the public. Almost a quarter of a century to the day since William walked behind his mother’s coffin, his wife has inherited her title, Princess of Wales. And she is thoroughly deserving of it.
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