Prince William To Be King Over Charles? How Queen Elizabeth Shows Confidence In His Ability to Rule
Prince William is currently second in line to the British throne, with only Prince Charles ahead of him in the line of succession. As royal fans know, Charles has been waiting to become king for almost his entire life. But many in recent years have voiced their support for skipping over Charles and allowing William to become king. If Queen Elizabeth’s recent actions are any indication, Her Majesty definitely has confidence in William’s ability to rule.
The royal family has kept Prince William on a pedestal his entire life, claims royal expert
In his new book Battle of Brothers: William, Harry, and the Inside Story of a Family In Tumult, royal expert Robert Lacey claims that Queen Elizabeth and the Firm have kept William on a pedestal his entire life.
According to Express, Lacey explained on the Pod Save the Queen podcast with Ann Gripper and Russell Myers that in order to protect William’s reputation, Prince Harry became the “fall guy.”
Lacey argued that both William and Harry got into plenty of mischief in the wake of their mother Princess Diana’s untimely death. However, he says that Harry always took the blame. At the same time, William would come out “smelling of roses.”
The royal biographer gave the example of Harry getting into trouble for drinking and smoking cannabis as a young teen. But, no one ever mentioned the fact that William and his friends were organizing the parties.
What’s more, when Harry made headlines for wearing a Nazi uniform to a Halloween party, William received zero blame. However, he was with Harry when he bought the costume. Gripper described Harry as the royal family’s “flypaper.”
UK citizens want Prince William to be the ‘perfect heir’
Lacey admits he’s never heard Harry described as “flypaper,” but he thought the term was “brilliant.” While all the bad stuff stuck to Harry, William’s reputation has perfectly fit that of a future king.
“I think it does describe very well the role that Harry was condemned to play and all the ‘spares’ have been condemned to play because, as you say, it’s very important for us,” Lacey said. “At the end of the day, I don’t think we should cast too much blame on the Royal Family, they are simply doing what we want. We want a perfect heir and family, just as we want a perfect monarch.”
Lacey says that if Harry’s role is to be the “fall guy,” then that’s the “cruel logic of the situation.” Ultimately, when it comes down to it, the strategy has worked. William has consistently remained popular with UK citizens. At the same time, both Harry and Charles have had their share of nasty headlines.
As Cheat Sheet previously reported, a 2019 Canadian poll revealed that most preferred Prince William as the next king over Prince Charles.
Queen Elizabeth just proved she is confident in Prince William’s ability to rule
Despite Prince William’s popularity with UK citizens, the chances of him being the next monarch are slim to none. Charles is the rightful heir, but he could choose to pass the crown onto William if he prefers not to be king. He is 72-years-old, but he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.
If Charles did opt to step aside for Prince William, there’s no doubt that Queen Elizabeth is confident in his ability to rule. According to Express, Her Majesty has just handed two royal patronages to her grandson.
After 70 years, Queen Elizabeth has handed her patronage of Fauna & Flora International to William. Prince Philip also passed his patronage of the British Trust for Ornithology after 30 years as patron.
“William is a deeply committed environmental campaigner, following in the footsteps of his father,” royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams explained.
Fitzwilliams says Prince William has recently made “highly significant” steps to show his commitment to climate change. He says William’s new patronages tie-in well with his environmental work.
“It is also of significance as it is an example of William, who will be King one day, taking on patronages from his grandparents who clearly have confidence in his undoubted abilities,” Fitzwilliams said.
