Prince William plans to rewrite monarchy’s playbook

Prince William appears determined to sidestep the controversies that once shadowed his father’s tenure as Prince of Wales. 

While King Charles frequently found himself in hot water for testing the limits of royal commentary, William has taken a markedly more measured approach, quietly rewriting the rules of modern monarchy.

In the book Power and Palace, royal author Valentine Low highlights that this is no coincidence. 

William has studied Charles’s missteps meticulously, intent on learning from them rather than repeating them. 

Unlike his father, who sometimes courted confrontation famously wading into debates on genetically modified foods in the Daily Mail, sparking clashes with Tony Blair’s government William opts for caution and consultation.

“William is very different from his father, and he is acutely aware of the mistakes Charles made,” Low explains. 

“You can see it in how, when William launched his homelessness initiative, he ensured everything was cleared with ministers beforehand, carefully avoiding any political missteps.” 

Charles often tested boundaries pushing ministers to the edge and occasionally sparking controversy while William seems focused on navigating the fine line between influence and interference with care and foresight.

“Charles always knew the difference between being Prince of Wales and being King,” royal author Valentine Low told HELLO!. 

“But when I was writing the book, it dawned on me that no one actually defines that difference. Charles was essentially figuring it out as he went along.”