King Charles Won’t ‘Go the Extra Mile’ as King Because He’s Just Waiting for Prince William to Take the Throne, Insider Says
King Charles always knew that he was bound to take the throne. However, what he might not have realized from a young age was just how old he would be when he finally got there. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, ruled for 70 years, and Charles was 73 when he took the throne. But in the meantime, so much of the monarchy has focused on Charles’ older son, Prince William, who is next in line for the throne. And one royal expert says that the attention on William has impacted how Charles plans to rule.
King Charles reportedly won’t ‘go the extra mile’ as king
Although Charles has essentially waited his whole life to become king, he reportedly is taking the job a little differently than he maybe once thought he would. Charles turns 75 this year, and one royal expert says that he doesn’t plan to do much as king because he is ultimately waiting for his son to step in and change things.
“In a way, he is almost shrinking the monarchy and cling-wrapping it until it is ready for the next generation; this is very much a caretaker situation,” Paul Burrell, a former royal butler, told Slingo, via Express. “When I looked after him as Prince of Wales at Highgrove, the helicopter would land and he would moan and complain about leaving his gardens to go to work … I don’t think he has changed that much; he understands what he has to do but he isn’t going to go the extra mile.”
Charles has kept pretty quiet since he took the throne in 2022. And it makes sense; William and his wife, Kate Middleton, are the faces of the monarchy. The world has watched them grow up together, from dating in college to marrying and having three children. The world seems to have a much closer connection to William and Kate than to Charles and Camilla.
Are Prince William and Kate Middleton ready to be king and queen?
It seems that William and Kate are in no real rush to take the throne, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t preparing to do so. Right now, the couple has three children no more than 10 years old. If anything, it would likely be chaotic for them to be king and queen right now because it would give them less time to focus on their family. In 10 years, things will be different; their youngest child, Prince Louis, will be in high school, and Prince George and Princess Charlotte will be in college. Charles might choose to retire from the throne in his mid-80s and let William take the reins, but he probably won’t do so much sooner than that.
With that said, William and Kate are certainly preparing to take over. They make plenty of public appearances, they keep a near-spotless reputation, and they are slowly introducing their children to the spotlight. Plus, the two continue to take on patronages and find issues they’re passionate about, which is a sign they are almost certainly taking their future roles seriously.
