Prince William and Prince Charles have a famously dysfunctional relationship. I understand why William is still quite touchy about his childhood, how Charles treated Diana, and Charles repeatedly using William for PR purposes. But I also think that William often comes across like an ungrateful brat in his dealings with Charles. Charles has financed William’s work-shy lifestyle for years, and Charles gives William whatever he wants, and all Charles gets back is disrespect and tantrums. In 2015, Charles even had a hand in publicly guilt-tripping William over access to Prince George and Princess Charlotte – William has always severely limited Charles’ time to his grandkids, and Charles let William know publicly that it was no longer okay.
So, in this new documentary about Charles (Prince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70), William goes on camera and talks about how he really wishes Charles would spend more time with his grandkids – hahaha – and how William is going to be a different kind of Prince of Wales and king.
William on Charles as a grandfather: William says his father is “brilliant” with Prince George, 5, Princess Charlotte, 3, and 6-month-old Prince Louis. But William also says he wishes that his dad would slow down enough to be able to spare more time for them. “It’s something I’m working more heavily on, put it that way,” William said. “I think he does have time for it, but I would like him to have more time with the children.” Now that his father has reached his landmark year, “it’s a perfect time to consolidate a little bit as most families would do, you are worried about having them around and making sure their health’s okay. He’s the fittest man I know, but equally I want him to be fit until he’s 95. Having more time with him at home would be lovely, and being able to you know play around with the grandchildren. Because when he’s there, he’s brilliant. But we need him there as much as possible.”
Camilla says Charles is good with HER grandchildren: “He will get down on his knees and crawl about with them for hours, you know making funny noises and laughing and my grandchildren adore him, absolutely adore him. He reads Harry Potter and he can do all the different voices and I think children really appreciate that.”
William will do things differently: Prince William, while admiring of his father’s “work ethic” and “passions”, intends to do things his own way when he inherits the title and accompanying income from the Duchy of Cornwall. William, setting out his own stall, said: “Personally, I want to be my own man, and take my own style, my own passions and my own interests, my way, and do things slightly differently.
[From The Guardian & People]
I mean… I have my thoughts, and perhaps they are unpopular thoughts among the “Will and Kate are preparing to be King & Queen, that’s their priority?!?!?” crowd. I think William was a sullen, spoiled, tantrum-prone jackass to his father for years and he did it because he could get away with it. Then there was a shift – maybe it was raising his own kids – which I doubt – or maybe it was something else, but suddenly William is very keen to reconcile a bit with Charles. My guess for that something else is still “the entrance of Meghan.” Do not discount how significantly she changed the dynamics of this family.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
For someone with so much money, Charles’ suits always look so cheap and ill-fitting.
I don’t know happened in this photo but usually Charles is sartorially splendid and impeccably dressed. Did you see an alt-Chuck somewhere, like in the original Star Trek where there was a parallel universe of evil twins?
I especially love his love of buttonholes, especially pinks!
Agree with you, Maven1st: Charles is one of the best dressed men in the media, absolutely splendid.
I dunno, William sounds pretty sincere about Charles to me. Family relationships aren’t set in stone, they are always in flux, and William might feel differently about his father than he did 1, 5, 10 or 20 years ago.
+1
I agree
I agree. We all have mentioned here how we think Kate has seemed different over the past few appearances (going all the way back to last winter IMO) and I think William has seemed different as well, both in his work ethic and in his overall demeanor. Maybe someone had a CTJ talk with him, maybe he grew up, maybe there has been extensive therapy, I don’t know. While William will always seem a little petulant to me for some reason, there is also a different vibe to him now.
And yes, a relationship with a parent can change a great deal from 10 to 15 to 25 to 35, especially when you are growing up in the royal family and in the midst of normal growing up “issues,” you have the very public death of your mother. what is weird to me is that William did seem pretty close with Charles following Diana’s death – in a lot of the family photos they look like a happy family unit – so I wonder if something changed in his 20s that made William swing away from his father and now he’s swinging back? Again though, maybe just normal growing up, figuring out your place in the world (which is hard when it’s been determined for you since birth), etc.
William’s relationship with his father changed when he found out that it was his father and his PR team leaking stuff him. Will and Harry were thrown under the bus fairly regularly to make Charles and Camilla look good. Even the first time the boys met Camilla was leaked. Both Will and Harry were upset when they found out it was their father’s fault. Considering Charles started up again recently, I think William just realized that his father isn’t going to change and he wants his kids to have their grandfather. I doubt he trusts him anymore than he used to.
ITA, I had a difficult relationship with my mum for a long time. It improved a lot when I turned 30. I guess I simply grew up and saw her decisions / life from a adult point of view.
I suppose it is possible that the Cambridges really did have a deal with Charles that they would live a “normal” life for the first years of their marriage and then transition into the role of working royals. Until recently, they seemed so resentful when working, but now they look relaxed and engaged. Perhaps role-playing normal helped William appreciate that he has had opportunities that never would have been afforded Charles and it has made him better appreciate that Charles tired to do his best.
I’ve always believed that they did personally. The Queen always said her time with Philip playing normal was incredibly important to her. I also think Will dragged his feet though. I think that Kate getting the family order last December also shows it was an agreement. Will and Kate declared themselves full time last summer. So, it makes sense that Kate would get the order when she became full time and not before. She was pregnant at the time and that made it difficult to get her numbers up before she went on maternity leave. I’m also not going to fault a woman for taking their maternity leave. Kate sees herself as a mother before anything else. All things considered her main job is to raise the heir anyway. Not that she isn’t capable of stepping it up publicity.
The Queen didn’t play normal with Philip for 7 years. She visited Philip four times in 2 years, for a total of about 4 months. Enough with the Malta lie.
No her job is not to raise the heir. All the other royal women both work and raise kids. It is only Kate and her fans who think Kate cannot handle a few hours of charity work per week with her two housekeepers and three nannies around to cover things at home.
I agree and all of this thing about William limiting the time Charles spent with his grandchildren might have been nothing more than speculation.
I agree. It’s also not as if families don’t agree one some things and disagree on others. I love my parents, but if asked, I have a lot of things I’d criticize them for. Doesn’t mean I love them any less.
I thought so too and his comments about following his passions is exactly what Charles said. Charles made his own path with the role and it seems like it’s the expectation. It’s such a constricting life, there has to be some room to effect what you care about… I hope.
“Prince William, while admiring of his father’s “work ethic” and “passions”, intends to do things his own way when he inherits the title and accompanying income from the Duchy of Cornwall. William, setting out his own stall, said: “Personally, I want to be my own man, and take my own style, my own passions and my own interests, my way, and do things slightly differently.” Read, I will do little while leeching as much money as I can from the Duchy into my private funds – William is another Duke of Windsor.
Yeah I agree Meghan has changed the dynamic of the family – the DoLittles see the change in dynamics between Chuck and the Sussex’s and they are threatened and feel left out. Plus K&W can’t use the kids as bargaining chips now, Chuck is going to have another one to shower with attention if he continues to keep his away. Chuck WANTS to be a grandfather, shame William wouldn’t let him. I wonder if allowing Chuck to see them more will mean Queen Mother Carole is told to step back – she practically lives at KP, raising those kids. Am surprised TQ allows that.
lmao so much fanfiction. Will you feel the same when Doria is over here more raising the Sussex kids? I doubt it. Why are you surprised that the Queen allows their Maternal Grandmother to spend time at their homes? This is what all normal Grandparents do..
Hahhahahhahhahahha
What a lie
I don’t think it has anything to do with Megan but with the fact that Willian is now a father himself. Have in mind that all the time Charles spent with his mistresses, he was not just ignoring Diana. He was ignoring his children as well. I don’t think Willian was only hurt by what his mother went but what he went through as well and in front of the world, to make things worse. Willian is saying he wants his father to be more present in his children’s life. Charles is still giving jabs on his children through articles and interviews. Willian is not a saint but taking everything that is coming out lately, he still looks better than Charles for me.
By all indications Charles was a present parent to William and harry.
I think Chucky did the best he could, but that’s very little. Look at him now, going after his son. He just couldn’t stand Diana’s popularity, he can’t stand that his sons are more popular than him. And their wives as well.
Consider that “being present” as a parent for a royal is a world different from being present as a parent for any of the rest of us.
I think that a great deal of royal parents are really bad parents, with the exception of the current younger generation raising families.
And Diana spent her time with her Misters, you did not think she was the only one taking care of them do you? Nannies and boarding school were doing their part.
It’s time to let go.
Charles was a lousy husband but a good father, there are many reports of even Sainted Diana saying he was a good and very hands on father. There is NO evidence Charles neglected his sons.
I don’t believe you can be a bad husband and a great father. Or a bad wife and a great mother. Not at the same time. The family is a unit, and children need the whole unit to function properly to feel securely attached. Parents treating each other badly affect children profoundly, even after they’re no longer children. I won’t speculate on who was the more toxic partner between Diana and Charles. But I do believe William genuinely has a lot to resent his father for.
Rubbish. Plenty of people are awful spouses and good parents.
“Personally, I want to be my own man, and take my own style, my own passions and my own interests, my way, and do things slightly differently”
Probably the different way it will be less, less work LOL
Yeah this is the part of the interview that made me roll my eyes, to be honest, lol. We know what you mean by “do it differently,” William.
Oh, definitely. In the program, they talked about how Charles works from “before breakfast” until almost midnight. Harry even mentioned that Charles falls asleep at his desk a lot. I can’t imagine William doing that.
He’s verging on being keen?
William’s answer makes completely sense in context. I watched the documentary. He is asked about his father busy schedule if I remember correctly, and part of his reply is that quote that everybody took as shady. It wasn’t. He actually said how he wants his father to take good care of himself so he can still be around at 95 years old.
It was sweet actually
Yes, I think it was very nice.
But even if it was said without shade, isn’t William being a little myopic? Charles will be king possibly before 10 years are up, and his duties will only increase as the queen slows down. If William actually wants his kids to know his father better, practically speaking, it’s the Cambridges who need to make time to accommodate Charles’ schedule. I know that doesn’t feel “fair” in terms of a 50/50 split of effort, but that’s not how family works – you don’t only put in to it exactly what you are getting in return. There is a give and take that changes over decades.
if william wanted his father to spend more time with his kids he wd have made it happen – he hasnt and it shows by him passively aggressively blaming his father who as prince of wales has a heavier load than william
If he’s so keen to see is father lighten his load, then him and his wife should step up and work consistently.
William increasing his workload will not change Charles’ workload because:
1. There is no way Charles is going to decrease his workload, he is not popular and knows it. His work ethic is the only thing he has going for him, a decrease in work load would decrease his already low popularity.
2. A decrease in work load is absolutely the last thing that is going to happen now that he is taking over more and more for the Queen, I would expect his numbers to go up actually.
3. People already want Charles to be skipped over for William. If William’s numbers go up and Charles numbers start going down before he even becomes monarch the calls for William to jump over his father would only get louder.
If he wants his father to work less he needs to be doubling his workload since he is now supposedly full time. Charles is hitting over 500 engagements annually and William may surpass 200 but not by that much. Even his much older uncles work more than him. Andrew is skeevy but he also hits around 400 engagements annually and has done so for years.
The royals all have different patronages and roles so they are spread far and wide. In order for William to take on more of Charles’ duties, Charles would need to officially and/or formally make the hand-off. If Charles is your patron, handing it off to the heir to the heir is a major prestige downgrade and would undoubtedly leave organizations Charles cares about disappointed. I suspect they are suggesting his less necessary activities, like writing Spider Letters, can be curtailed.
Charles tried to pass the Prince’s Trust to William, who turned it down. This is Charles’s pride and joy, his life’s work. There are no excuses for William’s laziness.
William has refused both the Prince’s Trust and refused to step up and do the level of work he should be doing with the Duchy. It will hit the fan once Charles is king and William realizes he won’t have the income for the three nannies unless he pays attention to the Duchy.
William is not dumb.
Harry and Meghans twins ( I wish) will be close to Charles because he will be the only grandfather they will know (i wish).
William is getting ahead of all the positive posts coming about grandpa Charles.
William always comes across as such a pill. The only way he’s shown that he’ll be different from his father is that he’ll be much lazier.
I love how Charles using his own kids as PR fodder is mentioned as something one might feel simply “touchy” about but him giving money to William is presented as worthy of praise and gratitude, as if the money came from Charles’s own hard labor and he was giving it to his kid out of the kindness of his heart… Charles financed both his sons’ lifestyle like his mother financed his and his siblings’ before that and like her parents financed hers and her sister’s before that and so on and so forth.
They’re all rich brats who’ve always depended on their trust fund and parental handouts.
As for the work-shy ethos… There’s no such a thing as a “hard working royal”: waving and smiling isn’t work nor is it service or duty. It’s pointless, self-aggrandizing pageantry whether it’s the Queen, Charles, William, Harry, Kate or Meghan doing it.
This! The duchy of Cornwall money does not belong to Charles. And when William becomes Prince of Wales that money pot will be his to run.
What do you suppose William would do if Charles held off making him the Prince of Wales? I believe I read hear that Charles could conceivably make him wait ten years or more before conferring the title on him. It doesn’t have to happen the minute Charles is made King.
My understanding is that William will become Duke of Cornwall upon Charles’ ascension to the throne. The duchy of cornwall is not directly tied to being PoW, its tied to being the heir to the throne, which William becomes when Charles becomes king. Maybe someone more knowledgeable about royal finances can correct me if that’s wrong.
The Prince of Wales title doesn’t matter, the moment Charles becomes King William automatically becomes Duke of Cornwall and begins receiving the duchy income and can manage it however he wants without Charle’s input. The purpose of the Duchy of Cornwall is so the heir is not financially dependent on the monarch.
Yes, that’s right. The PoW title must be invested by the monarch, but the DoC title belongs automatically to the heir apparent, once he becomes so.
Every word of this is so true.
I definitely think Charles makes no effort to schedule time for his grandkids.
Camilla, William, and Harry kept talking about how Charles is always working. Harry said that he eats really late because he has so much work to do.
We know that Charles missed George’s first birthday party because he was doing engagements in Scotland.
I 100% believe that William and Kate are the ones who have to make the effort to take the kids to Charles. It’s obvious that Charles work comes before everyone else. How is it WilliM and Kate’s fault that Charles has no time?
I think they have said that Charles’s schedule is set months in advance, so its not going to be the same relationship that the Cambridges have with the Middletons, where they can coordinate schedules a bit more last minute. But there has to be an effort to schedule things with him, and I think the impression from various reports is that they (will and kate) don’t make that effort. So it seems like a situation where no one is willing to compromise.
But It was said that Charles eats dinner late and falls asleep on his desk because he is so busy with work, so when exactly are Willam and Kate suppose to bring the kids over that they wouldn’t be interrupting Charles’ work?
I think that is why William said he wishes he would take it easier and could see the kids more.
I mean his working is something that William, Harry, and Camilla kept talking about and was meant to make his work ethic sound like a positive but he sounds like a workaholic who is never around his family. Sounds like Camilla eats dinner by herself and goes to sleep by herself while Charles is working.
I think the family just accepts that and know that is the way it is. That’s why William said that he’s working on trying to get Charles to spend more time with the kids because It obviously seems like Charles makes zero effort.
I have to agree with you @Pris. Not only did Harry admit that Charles falls asleep at his desk regularly but it was also revealed that he skips meals so he can cram in as much work as possible in a day. With Charles’s enormous work schedule and George and Charlotte’s school and social schedules (after school activities, birthday parties etc) its probably near impossible to schedule time to see Charles.
I’m sure the Middleton’s are much more accommodating.
And I can see why this would be an issue when it comes to spending time. With small kids it’s hard to plan anything minus in advantage (and when you do, life often laughs at you). You can’t accommodate for things like Illness or even justnoff days and as George and Charlotte get older, they will be invited to play dates and birthday parties with only a few weeks notice. Scheduling things rigidly just doesn’t work with little kids or young families and if it is a case of Charles scheduling every moment months in advance, then I can see why they may not see as much of each other.
I think it was Mark Bolland who said the royals are great at making it look like they more work than they actually do? It’s likely that Charles’ workload has increased as he takes over more duties from the Queen but let’s not kid ourselves, Charles still takes vacations and has free time. I think he likes to keep busy but that includes holiday activities.
There’s a story that when Charles broke his arm, William had been excited about his dad being around the house more because he wanted them to spend time together. Charles scheduled away all his extra free time, William was disappointed, Diana noticed and gave Charles a quick heads up and Charles immediately made time for William.
I think he would still do that if the Cambridges checked with him about clearing time for them but Charles is the old-fashioned, more distant but still loving parent who wouldn’t think to go to his kids and ask about their schedules whereas I think a more modern parent like Carole would go to the Cambridges and build her schedule around their schedule.
Charles is the sole architect of his own downfall. No good blaming William for the mess that Charles has made of his personal life. Chickens coming home to roost!
really? what is coming to roost? diana is dead – charles is alive and married to camilla – william is dependent on his father financially so yeah i can see that as a win win for charles.
Maybe take over more duties from him? Here’s a thought. Maybe Charles wants to give him a chance to be more of a father than he was, or Phillip was to him.
Boom. I can definitely see that.
Turns down invite for his family to spend quality time with Charles, Meghan and Harry in Scotland for a week, then alleges that his dad doesn’t make time for his grandkids. Will is being intentionally shady to his dad here, and unfair.
Everyone wants the Castle of Mey thing to be shady, but I can think of a number of reasons why they would politely decline, including that the kids were already set up with summer programs or they’d already planned a quiet trip. Also… it seems like a cold, potentially dreary place to vacation with young children and a baby even in the summer, unless they were blessed with amazing weather.
Yep. I turned down a trip with my ILs because I knew it would be a disaster. I knew how they would want to vacation and that it would not work with three small kids. Nothing against my ILs but it just wouldn’t work for us, but we do vacation with my mom because she accommodates our needs.
Yes, Will and Kate have nannies but the kids are unlikely to just vanish the whole time and Charles might be a splendid grandfather and still not up for the challenges of a week with 3 small kids (and yeah I’d pick a sunny beach over a rainy one too).
This, ib. Charles made the effort, W&K preferred to hang out with the Middletons. William talking out of both sides of his mouth again.
Ir never ceases to amuse me how folks on the Royal threads rigidly stick to thinking what they want to think regardless of the lack of evidence. 🙂
If William is petulant and tantrum-prone, well then he seems like Charles’s mini-me. Charles’s every PR move paints him as the most insufferable of them all.
I actually thought William came off surprisingly well in the documentary. The answer about wanting to do things differently was in context of the greater Prince of Wales role and how each person has to make it their own.
Based on the descriptions from all of them, including Camilla, Charles does seem like a bit of a workaholic. It thought it was also interesting that the Jobson book specified that Charles was glad the kids had the Middletons because of his packed schedule and that his office had always gone to great lengths to deny the stories that the kids were being withheld.
I dont know, honestly William sounds like the only one in that family (I mean the men, not counting Meghan or Kate or even Anne in this) who has a grip on reality and seems to know what he’s doing. “Controlling” and “grand” he might be, but I think that’s specific to people who are particular and want things the way they want them. Whenever I see him in public- despite his well documented ambivalence on the monarchy and press- he seems very at-ease, mature and like he can handle anything. It’s a rare quality and maybe something he’s fully grown into now. Charles seems well-meaning but also like he majorly buys his own press, Harry is charismatic but dim, and Andy and Edward have been totally forgettable.
William is just as dim as Harry. He just has a lot of confidence because he’s been told his whole life that he’s going to be King.
No, I think William is consistently engaging and sharp in his public appearances- atleast of late
Sounds like Charles either has no time management skills or makes extra work for himself because what exactly does he do that would generate that much extra effort? I know that he does a lot of engagements but I imagine that he has staff to research the various charities, sites, areas that he visits and that they also provide him with speaking points etc. It’s admirable that he wants to research himself but part of being a good leader/boss is hiring good people and then trusting them to do their jobs. It’s no secret that none of the royals are particularly academically gifted so I guess it could be down to it taking longer for him to “get” things but I still wonder how much of this extra work is necessary. There is always one person in most offices who makes a big song and dance about how long and hard they work but in reality, they don’t get any more done–and sometimes less–than their more efficient co-workers. To me, Prince Charles is that person.
Charles does over 500 engagements a year, plus overseeing the management of the Duchy, plus the Prince’s Trust, etc etc. Believe me, Charles is no less efficient than William, and indeed is much more so.
There is a difference between a hard worker and a workaholic. I never realized how much of a workaholic Charles is. I can definitely see where William would have issues around that. You can’t stop a workaholic. William can’t just take work from him. They are both grown men. Even if he did, Charles would still find work to occupy himself. It seems like Charles is trying to prove something, maybe to his parents? I can see William wanting to parent differently.
I don’t deny that William has a bone to pick with Charles wrt his mother, but I also think that William and Charles are just different people who jive in different ways. The assumption that William would have been less willful and egotistical if Diana had lived is kind of bunk, if you ask me. Not saying that his mother’s dead didn’t affect him, but also consider the fact that he’s a part of an archaic system that automatically puts him above “commoners” because of an accident of birth. I feel like that has a lot to do with his attitude than anything else.
Oh my goodness, the men in the family don’t age very well, do they. Shame.