King Charles is worried about ‘public relations disaster’ Prince William

Good lord, In Touch Weekly has decided to go full-throttle with the royal tea lately. In Touch has done some good/interesting pieces about Prince William and Rose Hanbury in recent weeks, and now In Touch is tackling the dual health crises crippling the British monarchy. In Touch’s sources say, flat-out, that King Charles’s doctors are only giving him two years. Their sources are also saying that Charles knows William isn’t ready to take over. Take this with a huge grain of salt, but YIKES.

After announcing that King Charles was battling cancer, the palace insisted that he “remains wholly positive about his treatment.” But it’s far worse than anyone knows, an insider tells In Touch exclusively: “He has pancreatic cancer and has a maximum of two years to live.”

While reeling from the tragic news just over a year into their reign, Charles, 75, and Queen Camilla, 76, “are also worried about Prince William, who is next in line to the throne, because he’s currently facing a public relations disaster,” says the source.

“Charles knows the pressures of being the monarch,” the source adds. “And he just isn’t sure William is ready to take his place. It seems premature, and there could be consequences.”

Amid Princess Kate Middleton’s health crisis – she announced on March 22 that she had been diagnosed with cancer – old rumors of an affair between William, 41, and Rose Hanbury resurfaced. While Rose, 40, insisted that the rumors are “completely false,” Charles is still worried that his eldest son will repeat the same mistake he made himself when he cheated on the prince’s mother, Princess Diana. “It’s a very awkward situation,” the source admits.

William has also reportedly turned to alcohol to deal with the stress, “with as many as four drinks a night,” claims the source. Although the royal was nicknamed “One-Pint Willy” by his cousin-in-law Mike Tindall, the insider says he has a habit of having a few drinks when he’s letting loose with friends.

A 2021 report claimed that William would have beers after work and “several glasses of wine with dinner,” leading him to “wake up crabby,” which his father was not pleased about. “Charles has counseled him that there can be no more carefree outings to the pub anymore,” the source adds.

William’s temper is also a cause for concern in the king’s eyes. In his tell-all, Spare, Prince Harry recalled a fight he had with his older brother, writing, “William grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me.” A second source tells In Touch, “Word is, the altercation Harry mentioned in Spare wasn’t the first to occur. There was a growing rivalry between William and Harry ever since they were little and sometimes things got heated between them.”

Royals author Tom Quinn has also alleged that the “hotheaded” future king has directed his anger at Kate as well, to the point that they’ve had “terrible rows where they throw things at each other.

While Charles “is willing to try any treatment to extend his life by a few years, at least,” William remains frustrated by the rampant rumors about him as he waits to take the throne, the source says. “William does a very good job putting on a smile and calm face in public, but it does bother him. The feeling is that the current climate surrounding the monarchy has already cast a long shadow on his future as king.”

[From In Touch via Yahoo]

In many ways, this is just a more tabloidy version of what Tina Brown wrote in the New York Times this week: that Charles’s reign will be short, that no one thinks William is ready, that William is “frozen” with anxiety about the future. In any case, we don’t know what kind of cancer Charles has nor the kind of cancer Kate has. There are lots of rumors about both, and only one of them has been providing a constant stream of proof-of-life. Charles will do everything he can to ensure a long reign but he can’t ensure that he will beat cancer. Also: I totally believe that William has been drowning himself in booze for a while (and establishment figures have noticed) and I also believe that the assault Harry described was not the first or the last.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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187 Responses to “King Charles is worried about ‘public relations disaster’ Prince William”

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  1. HeatherC says:

    He’d have a few beers after he finished work? Then the man hardly drinks at all!

    You’d think someone who knows he’s going to get the job as long as he outlives his father would be better prepared. But apparently that hope was a bridge too far. It’s going to be a disaster which will be good for the gossip mongers (like me) and luckily the monarch (from what I understand) doesn’t have a lot of actual power (other than self serving ones like tax laws etc) that it’ll just be a side show.

    • The Robinsons says:

      William likes wearing the clothes without doing the work.

    • Lauren says:

      He could hold things up in government, though, if he doesn’t get the paperwork from the red boxes done in a reasonable amount of time. I suspect he will hate that aspect of being monarch, even though he just has to sign and not read (though Elizabeth is known to have read everything, and Charles I imagine does, too). If he can’t even do the most legally important part of his job, Great Britain will have a terrible time.

      • ArtHistorian says:

        Not doing the important paperwork was allegedly one of the many many problems with Edward VIII. A smaller problem considering the history of that man but a significant one nonetheless.

    • BeanieBean says:

      That line about beers after work was just a hoot! C’mon, the man doesn’t work, let alone regularly! And a lot of folks who go out for drinks after work go with work colleagues, who would that be in William’s case? His valet? And what exactly signals the end of the work day for William, after he gets back from the last school run?

    • ales says:

      Imagine how different it would be if William had a partner who was willing to work and who wanted to learn and participate to make a difference. William has no support from his wife, he married his stalker and woke up far too late. A useless cardboard cutout who can barely speak, spends masses of money on herself, and does nothing except focus on herself and her grifter family. Looking at other Royals worldwide, all the wives are educated, speak well, worked and had careers and are all very active in their countries. Charles is king, William is next in line, yet the BN behave as though they should both be kowtowing to Khate.

      • jwoolman says:

        Ales — The only one responsible for William’s behavior is William. He was always a moody jerk, and moody jerks often give women false hope during their nice phases. Kate is not the reason for anything her moody jerk of a husband does or doesn’t do. And she is not the first woman to be so fooled by a man. I wish women would just walk away at the first sign since only the man can fix himself, but hope springs eternal.

        I am also tired of people assuming they get a twofer from the wife of a man. Kate has the right to be her own person and she should not have been pushed into doing things that she was not suited for. Not her fault, it’s hard to fully realize what will be dumped on you before you are in too deep, especially when children arrive.

        William decided to marry her and his dysfunctional family approved. Any unsuitability for the stupid job is on their heads. They were the ones who really knew what was involved, and they were the ones happy to hire her as an incubator for the heir and a spare.

      • ales says:

        Not defending William. Stalking someone for 10 plus years is not usual. Predatory stalkers are never innocent victims. Male or female, the manipulation, their public persona of victimhood is usually very convincing. Female Narcissists know that most people believe that all women are vulnerable, this enables them to portray their poor victims as abusers and bullies. I have experienced good people being intentionally destroyed and scarred forever, the female narcissist enjoys every moment of torture and pain she inflicts on others. Marrying your stalker is always a huge mistake.

    • Caribbean says:

      HeatherC! The shade!!…but if you follow the logic (drink AFTER WORK), as you said, he wouldn’t drink at all!!!

  2. As well he should be worried. If he were smart he would end the monarchy as the last king.

    • equality says:

      Does he have that power? He can only decide whether or not he is willing to do the job. He could try to influence Parliament to bring a referendum, but how willing would the House of Lords be?

      • olivia says:

        Not on their own, you are right. But if you have a queen/king who finally says “you know what? We are done here” that has immense power of validation to those that want the end of monarchy and who gets voted in to allow for it. It would be like cutting the woods before laying down the road kinda thing.

      • SamuelWhiskers says:

        He doesn’t have the power. If he gave any sign of wanting to overthrow the monarchy, an entire system would immediately move against him, and he would be offered the choice of discreetly abdicating and removing himself and his children from the line of succession, or being publicly smeared as a traitor trying to destroy Britain, and they’d definitely paint him as mentally ill. Or maybe there’d be a convenient car accident.

        When Queen Anne died, the monarchy skipped over like 60 people in the order of succession, and made some random foreigner king, just so they could pick a monarch they liked (ie a non Catholic). That’s how it works. The system is in charge. You’re only as powerful as the system wants.

        I don’t see William ever having the integrity to even try to change things, since he’s so entitled and lazy (and greedy) he’ll want to be king and continue to do the bare minimum. But if he did, the system would destroy him and they’d just get someone else. Maybe even have him declared mentally incompetent and put George on the throne with a regent.

      • Tessa says:

        Anne’s successor was a descendant of princess Elizabeth. Daughter of James 1. The descendants of James 2 through his second wife were excluded

    • @debbye says:

      I don’t understand why the money that supports them has to fund all these people. Fund the head guy, pay chuckie and the rest support themselves. No more ribbon cutting or visits. Head of State business only and only by the Head of state.

  3. Rapunzel says:

    Harry’s telling of the dog bowl incident made it clear he was used to soothing William’s temper. And I believe every word of the In Touch story. It jells with everything else we’ve seen.

    • Jais says:

      What I appreciate about this In Touch story, regardless of how true the details are, is that it actually cites the dog bowl-assault incident from Spare without minimizing it. The way the BM light-heartedly discusses that incident as if it’s a joke and not a big deal is shockingly grotesque. Every rota reporter that smirkingly jokes about the dog-bowl incident is just perpetuating DV. Or they just don’t mention it all as if it didn’t happen. But here, it’s cited accurately and given weight as something that is terrible wrong. Which is how it should be discussed.

      • Feeshalori says:

        Not only wasn’t it minimized, but the article said there were other altercations as well. This was not a one-off situation that can be brushed off. Very revealing.

      • olivia says:

        The way the paid trolls on twitter went full throttle on the “William is a man!” toxic narrative was disgusting and frightening to see. Anyone who thinks being abusive is a sign of a strong character Is out of their minds.

      • Nic919 says:

        Adult siblings do not get into physical altercations unless something deeply wrong is happening. They tried to play this off as young boys fighting, but that is not how you deal with issues as adults.

      • Magdalena says:

        See, I think it was minimised. They called it a “fight” when it was clearly an assault. Harry made it clear that the attack came out of nowhere (William lunged at him without warning, taking him by surprise), and he did NOT fight back.

        Secondly, even Harry’s own narration makes it clear that William is always in a foul mood, going around aggressively picking verbal and physical fights and attacking people: “I can’t talk to you when you’re like this.” That’s what Harry said to William. So yes, we always knew that it was never a one-off. See also Harry’s description of the way William attacked his childhood friends when they suggested that he and Harry could both work in “Africa”.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Notice how William has no friends. Any poster to Celebitchy could easily list at least 10 friends of KCIII.

      • Cairidh says:

        Williams had the same best friends since he was a teenager. Tom van straubenzee who was his best friend at ludgrove, James meade his best friend at Eton (they were his two best men, they shared the duty) and guy pelly from the highgrove set. He’s still friends with most of his ex girlfriends. It’s Kate that is anti social.

      • Feeshalori says:

        We know that William coming into Harry’s home and physically manhandling him wasn’t the first time he laid his hands on him since Harry has cited cases of William’s hot temper in Spare. But the way it’s been presented by the media is that this is a boy will be boys scenario, all brothers fight, and nothing to see here. What I’m saying is this article is laying it out on the line that this is not the first time William put his hands on Harry and there have been other cases which the average reader may not know about, and In Touch is making that crystal clear in case people may think this was the only occasion in which that happened.

      • Ronaldinhio says:

        I agree.
        TW I am not alleging abuse bit discussing allegations
        In British law the allegations in Spare regarding William’s behavior toward Harry fit the criteria of domestic abuse crime.
        His alleged shouting and yelling at his father also fits these criteria.
        I think we rarely consider how family systems can be abusive and not just endured as someone’s ‘terrible temper’ ‘short fuse’ ‘flying off the handle’. This type of behaviour rarely improves and I wish we spoke about it more often as families often suffer terrible times.
        I actually have no idea what this means for BRF – it is an important point for us all

      • Cairidh says:

        Someone on Twitter posted an anecdote of a teenage girl sitting next to teenage William on a Skii lift and not recognising Him due to hat and goggles. She saw Harry on the Skii lift ahead and was very excited about it being prince Harry. William asked her if she’d like to meet him, and she said yes. So when the lift stopped William walked over to Harry and knocked him to the ground and then told him this girl wants to meet you. So yes, William has always been a shover. He shoved Diana when he confronted her about the panorama interview as well. But then she pushed her stepmother down the stairs.

      • Princessk says:

        @cairidh Can you provide a link to this skii lift story please?

  4. StillDouchesOfCambridge says:

    Wow they are being specific about Pancreatic cancer. Im gonna believe it because pancreatic cancer is vile and unfortunately you don’t walk out of it, so i would understand why he hasn’t revealed the nature of the cancer. We’re in for another london bridge down and another clowning unfortunately.

    • MY3CENTS says:

      It’s indeed a very big wow. Also I’m quite surprised how they’re laying all the cards out there for the people that have not been keeping up with royal gossip. Indeed very blatant wow.

    • Where'sMyTiara says:

      Brits are going to flip if they have to pay for yet another clowning in such a short space of time.

      • StillDouchesOfCambridge says:

        Yeah, IF they read the room correctly… Anyway, the danish have set a precedent with their simple crowning, they probably wont have a choice but to make it small with so many funerals/clownings in such a short time, there gonna HAVE to do it simple. Im happy theyre not gonna have a huge clowning and even the smallest event is going to be greeted with protests all the way to the balcony.

  5. Talie says:

    I hate to be negative, but it’s very clear, even from the recent photos that he is probably not in for an extended time here. I was also stunned that Tina Brown flat out said Kate was seriously unwell and made no mention of anything being at an early stage. And I know she got all the tea on her most recent trip to England. It’s getting very heavy and there is a sense that the family is coming undone.

    • Nic919 says:

      There are a few anonymous accounts on Twitter stating more serious stuff for Kate. But as with all of that it is not verified so it could be false.

      • Barb says:

        Yeah, the big one yesterday was stage 4 colon cancer, although the words, ovarian, uterine, and pancreatic have been thrown out. The same person – apparently male – wrote the tweets, but suddenly closed his account yesterday. He also tweeted prior to her video announcement and was correct about it, so who knows if he’s got a source or just got lucky with his guesses. If the one yesterday is true – IF – it doesn’t bear thinking about, in regards to the children. To think of William as a single parent is to realize they will be absorbed in to Windsor borg, and that’s it for them. While I think that the dire status reports aren’t necessarily true, I feel in my bones that she is, indeed, more ill than they’re letting on. Same with Charles. Even with the badly applied makeup, he’s looking like a man who is not long for this world. Two years would be a miracle in my opinion.

  6. WiththeAmerican says:

    Seeing how he towers over even his father, William’s violent rages are chilling. I never bought into the DV theories floated here and elsewhere as reason for Kate being MIA, but the way it keeps being mentioned that their fights involving throwing things at each other is shocking.

    William is sick. He’s terrified his own father, brother, step-mother and it seems his wife as well. Imagine what he will do as King.

    • equality says:

      It would be like having Trump as a king. He will be trying to get revenge on all kinds of people.

      • Megan says:

        More concerning is that he will be in control of the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster. A lot of people’s livelihoods will depend on William making good decisions.

      • WiththeAmerican says:

        That’s exactly what I’m concerned about. How many other people does William just hate for no reason?

        What might happen to Kates family, for example, if she is of no use to him? (I’m no Middleton fan but no one deserves to have a King using their powers for revenge or control.)

        More importantly, what will happen to the workers under his control?

      • Just Chelle says:

        Agree 1000% with Equality’s reply

    • Brassy Rebel says:

      He makes Henry VIII sound charming, WITHTHEAMERICAN.

      • WiththeAmerican says:

        That is so true, he keeps calling up Henry VIII’s reign of terror in his temperament. It all seems much more understandable watching how William is enabled.

      • Where'sMyTiara says:

        Well, W and Henry VIII had this in common: previous serious TBI.

    • Lulu says:

      I have always believed this is the reason Kate and the children were given Adelaide. The children did not need to switch schools, it was a ruse to move them out from under William’s roof. Kate probably would put up with anything, but the world changes after children come.

      • WiththeAmerican says:

        That makes sense. I hope to god he hasn’t laid a hand on any of them but given what he’s already done to other family members, perhaps not seeing it or not believing it is the worst sin.

        There are also the recent bruises on his neck that haven’t been explained.

      • Lulu says:

        My comment above I meant in the spirit that Kate would not want her children see/hear Williams’s rages. All reports of Williams rages is with other adults. My apologies for not being clear.

      • Cairidh says:

        Carole has a textbook case of narcissistic personality disorder. Narcissists have big rages. Given that Kate’s never made any effort to protect her children from Carole, I doubt she’d protect them from anybody else. Michael Middleton has always been said to be a decent person but with a narcissistic mother there is always a passive father who is allowing the abuse (unless there is no father present). So Michael won’t be protecting the children from anybodys rages. Nor will Carole.

      • BeanieBean says:

        I would like to add, as someone who grew up in a household with a violent/abusive a-hole father, he saved his physical assaults for our mother but not us kids. We got the verbal stuff, to be sure. Happy ending: my mom was able to gather strength & courage & leave him, after 20 years; he really did a number on her self-esteem.
        So yeah, I can see Kate wanting to move not just herself but her kids out of the firing range & she had the wherewithal to make that happen. That would be about the only thing I could respect her for, gotta say.

    • ArtHistorian says:

      There are stories about Charles throwing heavy objects at Diana as well during their fights. One story is, I believe from an eyewitness saying that Charles threw a heavy object (can’t remember what it was but the source was very specific) at Diana’s head. Luckily, he missed but if he hadn’t he would have done serious damage to her.

      Abuse runs in this family. Charles is an abuser – he abused his wife and he abused his youngest son and daughter-in-law. Now Will is repeating the pattern.

      • Tessa says:

        As Diana got into a car Charles was seen aiming a blow at Diana. He quickly saw the cameras and abruptly stopped. He scolded Diana on one of their tours when she fainted.

      • SamuelWhiskers says:

        Charles also beat and strangled a former staffer, either a butler or a valet I can’t remember which.

      • WiththeAmerican says:

        O.M.G. I did not know this. This makes the way Diana’s interview was silenced and hidden forever even more upsetting.

      • Feeshalori says:

        Samuel, Charles also ripped a sink out of the wall while the valet hid in a closet after Charles strangling him in that incident. I believe it was over a cufflink that fell down the drain which sent Charles into a rage. Fun times dealing with the Windsors!

      • Lulu says:

        Camilla has kept a separate home, dev may be the reason, similar to Kate and Adelaide.

      • Paulkid says:

        It was said to be a bootjack that he threw at Diana. I believe a servant saw it miss her head.

      • VADER says:

        There is also a video out there of charles hitting his horse with a whip several times out of anger at a polo game. Chucky has a bad temper too.

      • tenzing says:

        stories about charles and his rages have been even published in writing by his official biographers and he never had any of them removed, that is a tell tale sign that they are true and out there. i remember reading one story that he went bezerk while staying at a friends place and the bathroom sink was leaking a bit and he tore the whole thing off the wall. couldnt believe what iwas reading, than proceeded to check the writer and found out this was not a hack but his official biographer so you do wonder how much more are they keeping from the public.

      • Feeshalori says:

        Jeez, how many sinks did this man rip out? He must have had superhuman strength when he went into his rages. No wonder the staff hid themselves in closets when he went berserk.

      • Cairidh says:

        He dropped his cufflink down the sink. That was why he pulled the sink off the wall.

      • SURE says:

        @arthistorian This reminds me of the argument in Spare between H&M in which she asks him if/where he’s seen a man speak/treat a woman “like that”. He didn’t tell us his exact answer but your anecdote makes it easy enough for us to join the dots.

    • Tessa says:

      And called for a fake report about Meghan bullying staff

      • rosa mwemaid says:

        I always wondered if it had more to do with Meghan’s skin tone and the staff not liking having to take orders from someone they considered inferior, after all the RF were practising racial discrimination in their employment policy for years. They only decided to do something about it after the Oprah interview when Meghan talked about the lack of brown skinned people in the higher up jobs. She wasn’t the first, one of the heads of a brown Commonwealth country complained about the same thing years ago before social media, that was hushed up.

  7. Brassy Rebel says:

    In spite of the source, this truly does sound about right and even tracks with what the British media has let slip from time to time. In Touch even uses the BM’s description of William’s assault on his brother as “a fight”. They all need to stop minimizing domestic violence.

    • SIde Eye says:

      Brassy Rebel thank you! This wasn’t a fight where both sides threw punches. It was a disagreement during which William barged over to Harry’s and assaulted his brother. That is what happened. I don’t know why it’s so hard for everyone to just state the facts! And you’re right at the heart of it is a desire/need/tendency to enable abusers period.

  8. Sue says:

    My dad got diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 7 years ago and is still going strong. I hope the same for Charles. But I trust he isn’t thinking he can beat it with peach pits or wildflowers gathered at midnight.

    • ML says:

      Congratulations Sue. That’s nice to hear, and I hope he continues in good health.🫶

      • Sue says:

        Thank you. We know how very unusual it is for this kind of survival rate. When he was first diagnosed he was given 4 months. Most people I know personally who had this diagnosis were dead within months, in one case, two weeks. If in fact Charles does have pancreatic cancer and they are giving him 2 years that may be an optimistic guess. Regardless William needs to step up and I just don’t see that happening.

    • Teddy says:

      Congratulations to your family on your dad’s outcome. Pancreatic cancer is such a scary diagnosis. It’s very hard to catch early because the pancreas is tucked up in the liver and there are usually no symptoms until the disease goes metastatic. At that point the 5-year survival rate drops from 45 percent for localized disease to about 15 percent for regional. Just brutal.

    • rosa mwemaid says:

      I certainly want Charles to live a long life. I don’t want to see William as King, pity we can’t have Harry, he is a much nicer person.

    • jwoolman says:

      Yes, it really depends on how early and his response to treatment. Cancer treatments are advancing so rapidly and he has access to those still in the experimental stage. Prediction of impending doom is premature, regardless of how he looks right now.

      The same is true for Kate.

  9. Friday says:

    Pancreatic cancer is such a devastating diagnosis. I do wonder about Camilla looking so gleeful lately though. That doesn’t really jar with your husband only having max 2 years to live. I’m not a fan of either of them but they do clearly have love and affection for each other.

    • olivia says:

      But she is sooooo close to her ex, right? And they do live apart really so.. well.. she takes the money and runs and finally gets to retire and not having to travel around waving at the plebs or justifying what she is doing. This real is a win win for her.

    • Beverley says:

      Some have predicted that the Sidepiece will remarry APB after Charles passes. That heffa could teach a Master class on playing the long game, being the last one standing, and winning it all.

      • olivia says:

        I was thinking the same thing, but a lot of money is in play for her kids and grandkids so maybe not, and I don’t think a marriage would be that important for them (if that makes sense).

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Camilla may “shack-up” with APB but she will not remarry him.

      • Ciotog says:

        I thought he was remarried as well.

      • Tessa says:

        Andrew Parker Bowles second wife died. He is a widower.

      • Princessk says:

        Andrew Parker Bowles is said to be in a relationship with former TV presenter Ann Robinson.

      • rosa mwemaid says:

        I have read that PB was playing away while they were together. I can’t see her going back.

      • equality says:

        @rosa Why not? She was playing away also obviously. It seems to have been an open deal.

  10. michel says:

    I don’t feel sorry for this family at all. Charles knew his son was taking over the “family business” since his birth and has not prepared him at all for it. It is no different from any other family business. This is on Charles.

  11. Lulu says:

    William isn’t capable. QEII took over in her 20s because she was a capable person, Charles could have stepped up at any time as he is also a capable person. ‘Not ready’ is not really a thing for a man in his 40’s.

    • Dilettante says:

      And, if The Crown is to be believed, she didn’t want to be monarch in name only with the Grey Men really running the show. Although it seems that they still run the show…..

      • Deeanna says:

        Famous pancreatic cancer patients:
        Michael Landon and Patrick Swayze

        Could this inf too have been leaked by the palace itself, in the hopes that it willl shake William up to the point the point of straightening up? Or to give the powers that be in UK. Government plenty of time to get ready for possible problems to come?

      • samipup says:

        Alex Trebec also.

  12. equality says:

    Sounds rough, but is this why Cam is glowing? She knows she won’t have to be doing public work for a lot longer and can retire to her house and scheme from there? I don’t believe Charles cares if Will has affairs. He only cares that they can be covered up.

    • Interested Gawker says:

      Not Cam’s circus, not Cam’s monkeys.

      All of the bling and no responsibility as she watches all of her handiwork and schemes come to fruition. She’ll toddle back to APB when all is said and done…

  13. Proud Mary says:

    Look, I hope it’s all true and that William’s ill-fitted reign begins the end of that awful institution. But if Charles considers William a failure, and I believe he is, is Charles capable of sufficient self-awareness to know that his own role as a failed father could have been a catalyst for Williams’ shortcomings? I do blame Betty, not entirely, but to some extent, for Charles’ inadequacies and overall failure as a human being. So why is Charles not partly responsible for taking no role in raising his sons? At a minimum, isn’t it partly his duty, as King, to mentor the heir?

    • MsIam says:

      I have always read that the Queen Mother mentored Charles. But Charles definitely dropped the ball with William. I think I also read that the Queen would meet with William too, in order to go over things but he wouldn’t take anything seriously.

      • Tessa says:

        The queen mother spoiled Charles enabling him to think he was the center of the universe

      • BayTampaBay says:

        To be honest, if you are to a wear the UK Crown (any crown), you must think and act as the crown being the center of the universe but be humble as an individual person.

        QEII was successful because when she wore the crown (and as head of the family), she was the center of the universe but was quite humble as an individual person.

      • Proud Mary says:

        Where did you read that MsIam? I think you should read Jonathan Dimbleby’s biography of Charles. That is the book that led one critic to describe Elizabeth and Phillip as “refrigerator parents” for their coldness towards Charles. If you can still find it on YouTube, I suggest you view the old video of Charles at age 3 or 4, greeting his parents at a train station, after they had abandoned him for 6 months, to tour the commonwealth. When you’re done, compare that to Diana greeting her babies (who were around the same age) after being separated from them, to tour Canada for a few days. Also, you might want to visit the well-documented history of the monarch of that family treating the heir with contempt — Victoria and Edward VII, George the V and Edward VIII, are two examples. I believe that Phillip considered Charles, from the day he was born, to be too weak, and so he prevented Lizzy from “babying” him. That’s why Phillip made Charles attend that horrible boarding school that Harry discussed in Spare. I think it also explained Phillip’s relationship with Anne, whom he was said to have considered to be “more man than Charles.” I don’t blame his parents for all that Charles became, but the seed of his contempt for them was sown very early in his development. Despite whatever he might say publicly, Charles really hated his parents. He even blamed Phillip for forcing him into a “loveless” marriage with Diana. And it seems, unfortunately, that William inherited a lot from Charles: anger, resentment, contempt, etc.

    • LaurieLee says:

      Charles had 2 parents, let’s not forget. If he was badly parented, it was due to them both, not just the Queen.

      • ArtHistorian says:

        I bet having Prince Philip for a father was no picnic.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Phillip never “got-on” with Charles aka Queen Mummie’s favorite..

        Phillip never “got-on” with Andrew aka mummie’s favorite.

        Phillip was extremely close to both Anne and Edward.

    • Tarte au Citron says:

      Louis Mountbatten too, AFAIK.

      With William, I’m afraid both Diana & Charles were too lenient.

      • Tessa says:

        Diana was less lenient. She assigned her sons’s tasks to earn allowance money. She was seen scolding William. Also when William did not allow his parents to have picnic lunch with him at Eton. Diana invited harry to share the picnic lunch with her. William must have been seething over that. Diana would never have allowed William driving out harry she would not have wimped out over it like Charles did.

    • Tessa says:

      Charles is a bad father and grandfather.

      • SURE says:

        I think KFC actively contributed to driving out H; he didn’t wimp out in doing that.

  14. ML says:

    Whoa, that was an intense article (if it’s true)!
    First off, Pancreatic cancer is nasty. It’s incredibly difficult to treat as well. Growing up, one of my neighbors suffered from this, and it’s still an F-U cancer. My heat goes out to anyone who has to go through this disease or care for someone suffering from it. Hopefully they can keep KC comfortable.
    Next, even though the drinks tally doesn’t add up, this article is flat-out accusing the future king of having a problem with alcohol. I presume no one is going to accuse someone of being an addict in print without being able to back that up? Lots of people have difficulty moderating their drinking: Seriously, I hope he gets help. His kids need their dad.
    Continuing on, W not only has an alcohol problem but also a very bad temper that leads his to physical violence?! Yikes!

    Why went to InTouch with this story and why?!

    • Eurydice says:

      Yikes, indeed. All of this coming from one source? A source that would know the details of Charles’ cancer diagnosis, but also all the behind-the-scenes of William’s life?

      • Where'sMyTiara says:

        Smells like Camilla tbh. There’s a whiff of mothballs, cigarettes, and gin about this story.

    • ML says:

      My apologies for all of the spelling mistakes. I do constant battle with my phone and I’m afraid it’s winning.

      -I meant to say that my heart goes out to those of you battling/ caring for someone with pancreatic cancer.
      -William is physically violent.
      -Who is the InTouch source and why?

      Eurydice, Presumably there aren’t a huge amount of people who know all that, right?
      British sources have seemingly found American media to leak to recently. K’s staff clearly leaked to US Weekly. Carole possibly leaked a picture to TMZ. Now, if true, someone spewed their heart out to InTouch. It circumvents the royals shutting the information down.

  15. Amy Bee says:

    Yeah that wasn’t the first time that William assaulted Harry. I think it was first Harry didn’t fight back hence William asking him to hit him.

  16. Tessa says:

    William imo is cheating with other women. Charles should have not coddled William over all those years. His letting William force out harry is a scandal.

    • olivia says:

      I don’t think it is women. I have opinions.

      • ohwell says:

        I share your opinion and have for a long time.

      • Nanea says:

        I have opinions too – or, to quote Loki, God of Mischief, a bit of both.

        I mean, we all have seen the photos with Svetlana Ignatieva – in the car leaving that club before Christmas a few years back, and as the blonde “tourist” when Bulliam was selling the Big Issue, he never held Mumblina Middlebum that way, much less in public – and the photos (on more than one occasion) and gifs of John Carew hugging Baldilocks.

      • Alice says:

        Complete agreement.

      • Dilettante says:

        Yes, a bit of both.

      • Beech says:

        Does anyone remember Royal Foibles? There were hints about William’s sexuality.

      • ChattyCath says:

        Me too. Or both

      • Shawna says:

        I looked up John Carew, is all I’ll say!

    • jwoolman says:

      Might be a scandal, but pushing Harry away from the incredibly dysfunctional royal family is a good thing. He has undergone therapy (apparently not encouraged in the palace), gained more understanding of his dysfunctional family and how to cope with its effects, and married a woman who, regardless of whatever other faults the Brits yammer about, won’t put up with behavior such as William’s and Charles’ (and neither will his mother-in-law).

      Harry has all the advantages in this situation. The worst thing for him would be to be pulled back into the chaos of the dying Monarchy to keep it on life support at the expense of himself. Let Charles’ sister take over, she seems to want the job and is tough enough to take on the whole dysfunctional lot of them.

  17. 809Matriarch says:

    Well it may not be the first time he assaulted Harry, I think it’s the LAST TIME.
    He knows now that Harry will not be muzzled to protect a Willy anymore.

  18. Monika says:

    It is very hard to make a cancer prognosis at this stage. With the best treatment he receives he might oulive all expectations. I agree with Kaiser this piece reminds me on Tina Brown’s article in the NYT. She put the blame of the unpreparedness of William and the possibility of a short reign of Charles at the feet of the late Queen Elizabeth, giving them no space and time to develop into their roles by hanging on to the job.
    In regards to the In Touch piece it just confirms what is already floating around. Since the publishing of “Spare” more royal correspondents/experts refer to Prince William personality euphemistically as having ” a little bit of a temper “.
    I get the feeling that some royal correspondents know more than others. I had the same feeling when Kate confirmed her cancer diagnosis, ie Piers Morgan said it was more serious as people thought before the video came out. I am definetely not a fan of Piers Morgan but he has his connections to the Palace. It also would explain the recent coverage of Willi and Kate, try to bolster their popularity and protect them from criticism in anticipation of their coronation rather sooner than later.

    • Concern Fae says:

      I think the Tina Brown’s saying this is all the fault of QEII is because she froze Charles out and that then left him completely unable and unprepared to prepare William and get him ready to be POW and then King. William always had a temperament unsuited to the role he was born into.

      Tina Brown was editor in chief of Tatler back in the 70s. You don’t get that gig without deep connections within the aristocracy. She has sources and knows all. I am 100% team Harry and Meghan, but I’ve been following all of this long enough to know that in that crowd, even people sympathetic to Harry see his leaving as a betrayal.

      • Tessa says:

        Charles was prepared to teach William but he and the late queen also coddled William. He could never follow through and allowed to slack off. He could not even complete the duch y course Charles sent him to. I don’t like how brown slammed Diana and the sussexes in palace papers.

      • Mairzy Doats says:

        Thinking that Harry’s departure was a betrayal, even under sympathetic circumstances, is a reflection of that whole stiff upper lip thing of prioritizing hiding family dysfunction and abuse, and minimizing the needs of an individual. That view is that you’re supposed to keep family secrets at all costs.

      • Dilettante says:

        It’s a betrayal of the deeply held notion that the aristocracy and royalty are far superior to the plebeians.

      • Kit says:

        @Mairzy Doats, hmmm I don’t think it’s that high falutin’ concept of “minimizing the needs of an individual” for the greater good of all.

        Everything we see about the royals is all about “me, me”.

        Charles’ jealousy of Diana, their jealousy of Harry & Meghan, D*ck head’s jealousy of Cathy.

        That “crowd” is like a pack of braying hounds. Smell blood and in for the kill. A petty, self absorbed, greedy bunch.

      • Where'sMyTiara says:

        If they all didn’t want him to leave they should have treated him and his wife better, n’est-ce pas?
        If they didn’t want the very predictable result of an abused child breaking off from the family, someone should have counseled Chuck not to steal £ from his youngest by retracting Frogmore, not reimbursing for renovations that should have been paid out of CROWN funds. We know the refurbishment was expensive. We also know that they barely gave Harry any money so that was MEGHAN’S money the king stole. Both for renovations and the prepaid lease.

        When abusive family can’t control you with anything else, they will try to use money as the carrot/stick to compel compliance with the abuser(s). The Rota have been triangulated into this ghastly parent/child relationship by Chuck, and it’s an obscenity.

      • Monika says:

        Concern Fae, thank you. I am not familiar with Tina Brown’s background. Despite her swipe at Harry and Meghan I found it a very interesting piece. Not many reporters dare to criticise the late Queen. In some corners criticising the late Queen is seen as a sacrilege, smearing her legacy. It will take more than a decade before historians and biographers can assess the late Queen’s legacy objectively. It appears that the person on top of the Monarchy is almost untouchable. This happened with the Queen, in her last years she was put on a pedestal. Now you can see the same happen with Charles. Any criticsm of Charles is not picked up by the mainstream media.

        Most of the commentators sympathetic to Harry and Meghan are not your traditional royal reporters. They are also not the people in the UK who are interested in an honour, CBE, OBE or even a knighthood. This people are also not afraid to loose their access to the Palaces and with this their livelihood. Do not get me wrong I do not excuse the royal reporters behaviour. I find most of the reporting of Harry and Megahn by royal correspondents, RR or royal experts appalling and unjustifiable.

      • Eurydice says:

        Betrayal of the monarchy is a nice way of saying treason. Treason was punishable by death. The monarchy can wave aside smaller transgressions like sex trafficking and corruption and pedophilia as long as everyone is loyal to the crown.

      • Charter says:

        Where’smytiara, Harry had his inheritance which would have been substantial as it was likely well invested for him and he obviously didn’t spend it. But they got contracts /deals quite quickly too.

      • Liz says:

        Tina Brown was part of that set. Her late much older husband was Sir Harold Evans. Back in the day she had a crush on Charles.

      • rosa mwemaid says:

        Perhaps you didn’t read the racial abuse of Meghan and Archie by Daily Express readers, horrible, funnily enough they almost stopped very shortly after Meghan and Harry left the country, but the hate is still there just not the words about skin colour. I was told that it was even worse in the Mail but I didn’t read the mail so I can’t comment on that.
        I think they were justified in going if only because Buckingham Palace didn’t condemn it especially the racial abuse of a newborn Archie including the language of the slave trade.

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        @Concern Fae, Tina Brown became editor of Tatler in 1979. She was a freelance writer for the Sunday Times in London (starting in 1974). The then editor of the Sunday Times, was, Harold Evans. Harold and Tina developed a very close relationship while he was married. He divorced his wife and he and Tina eventually married in 1981. Tina becoming editor Tatler had more to do with Harold Evans, nudge, nudge, than connections through aristrorcacy on her part, more like Harold Evans helping her. HE was supposedly known as a speaker of truth. He’s probably side eyeing TB at this point wherever he is.

    • jwoolman says:

      I’ve noticed there have been an awful lot of stories and videos out over the past year or so going overboard on “sweet moments” between William and Kate. Such overkill to me suggested an attempt to rehabilitate the image of the rage monster.

  19. MsIam says:

    Pretty much too late to whine about William now, Charles. You’ve seen this coming from a long way off, someone should have realized he wasn’t going to just grow out of it and turn into a reasonable human being by magic. Instead, you were counting on Harry to be around and pick up the slack, but you messed that up too. I guess that sucks for you.

  20. Kake says:

    Sorry to pile on a cancer patient but, KC you had ONE job-being the parent who prepared his child for the job he was BORN to do! If he is not ready, that’s on you. All of the messaging about Peg’s suffering, angst, and stifling anxiety proves the dysfunction and incompetence of this institution that exists off of public goodwill and taxes. You’re telling on yourselves and asking people to be ok with it?

  21. Agnes says:

    Four drinks a night, yeah right. Multiply that by at least 3. I know a thundering alcoholic when I see one, and if he can go a night without downing the equivalent of 12 beers, I’ll eat my crown.

    • Harper says:

      Causing him to “wake up crabby.” Now we know the real personal reason for pulling out of Constantine’s memorial.

  22. Interested Gawker says:

    They need to get serious and stop all the fakery and lies.

    If Charles’ prognosis is that dire and they know

    A: Kate’s situation is more than they are telling and

    B: William is unfit to rule

    Then Charles needs to take the reins in truth and sort out his successor. If they could have slapped sense into William by now they would have and judging by his behaviour at that investiture and their ongoing refusal to show Kate to the public, whatever they tried in readying him, to date, has failed.

  23. Llvanslyke says:

    This royal cosplay will never not seem silly to me. A military outfit with fake medals and a sword? Mmmmkay.

    • Lula says:

      My thoughts exactly. It’s equal parts silly and archaic (but then, I’m from the states so, perhaps I just can’t understand).

  24. Brit says:

    This has reminded me of something I noticed in a long piece – double page spread – in The Times (UK) written by Kate Mansey (who seems to be a fairly new royal writer at The Times). The appeared in the Saturday 9 March edition, the day before the Mother’s Day photo dropped.

    Towards the end of the piece Mansey wrote: “Should the worst happen at some stage, Camilla would fulfil a unique role, becoming Queen Dowager rather than Queen Mother as she is not the mother of the incoming monarch.”

    As far as I know (happy to be corrected if anyone else has also seen this somewhere) this is the first mention of a future title for Camilla and I don’t think I’ve heard the title Queen Dowager used before.

    • Lulu says:

      I always assumed Queen Mum was designated for QEII’s mother as they were both Queen Elizabeth. This way Queen Elizabeth would refer to QEII, not her mother. Maybe I made that up??

      • BayTampaBay says:

        You did not. You are correct.

        Camilla cannot be Queen Mother as she is NOT the mother of the monarch.

        “Queen Mum” was a “Style” given to Elizabeth’s mother so as not to confuse Queen Elizabeth (consort) and QEII (regnant).

      • Berkeleyfarm says:

        Some ladies didn’t like the “Dowager” designation either. Elizabeth nee Bowes-Lyon had the option of “Queen Mother”.

        In this case Camilla might generally be known as “Queen Camilla” and if W and C are still married when Charles dies, C would be “The Queen”.

        As others have noted, a lot of it was because mother and daughter used the same name.

    • H says:

      T&C noted the Queen Dowager title in Feb and they got it from british press, can’t remember their source.

    • Feeshalori says:

      The queen dowagers that I know of are Catherine Parr, Henry Vlll’s last wife, and Queen Adelaide, widow of William lV. Neither had heirs to the throne. Queen Mary, the late queen’s grandmother, was also dowager queen. She never assumed the title of queen mother as Queen Elizabeth the QM did, because there was no confusion in names.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        To be styled a “Queen Mother”, you must be the spouse of the King at the time of his death and mother of the Monarch.

        The “Dowager Queen” is the woman married to the king at the time of the King’s death who may or may not be the wife of the king at the time of the King’s.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Should be:

        The “Dowager Queen” is the woman married to the king at the time of the King’s death who may or may not be the mother of the new monarch.

        Sorry for the copy & paste mistake.

      • Feeshalori says:

        So Queen Mary could have been styled queen mother, but chose not to. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother did choose it to differentiate from her daughter of the same name. Maybe she didn’t like to be known as Queen Dowager. Too stuffy, maybe?

  25. what's inside says:

    What if it is Kate who has pancreatic cancer? William won’t need to worry about a divorce.

  26. Mslove says:

    Of course Peg isn’t ready, nor will he ever be. People are worried he’ll pull out of a state dinner at the last moment and blame the wife. That’s not good for the country.

  27. Harper says:

    Princess Kate Middleton. BURN. Who wrote this? I want more of the same.

  28. maisie says:

    If Charles has pancreatic cancer he is not likely to survive two years. at his age, typical survival is measured in months. it’s probably the most untreatable and uniformly fatal cancer that exists.

    • Princessk says:

      I read somewhere that William will be King within a year.

      • Feeshalori says:

        If that’s true, his method of preparation seems to be drinking, hiding and avoiding all responsibilities.

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        Yep. William is still living his St. Andrew’s years. Still trying to pass tests on his own and when he doesn’t, it’s someone else’s fault. Or, Harry’s, because something or another.

  29. Rnot says:

    If he’s not ready now then he’ll NEVER be ready and that’s an existential threat to the institution.

    • Margaret says:

      He’s known all his life that he would be king one day. He grew up living in the royal fishbowl and, despite his mother’s efforts to show him a bit of the life that the ordinary people live, he has always known he would one day hold the top job and has been groomed for it by osmosis, being kowtowed to because of who he is. Imagine being bowed to or curtseyed to and being called “Sir” and being given special attention merely because of who your father and grandmother are, without any regard to your actual skills or achievements or merits! But I digress.

      William has watched what his grandmother did as she went about performing her duties throughout his childhood, his teen years, his early adult years, and into his middle years.
      He was mentored by her about his role and future duties to an extent. As a mature man he watched his grandmother age and die and observed and participated in all the rigamarole associated with her funeral, and participated in his father’s coronation. He witnessed how his father lived and worked as Prince of Wales and all the hard work he did with the Prince’s Trust and other activities.

      William is an adult man in his 40s. There is absolutely no excuse whatsoever for him to not be ready to take over the role of monarch. I agree that if he’s not ready now he’ll never be ready.

      If the William situation is an existential threat to the institution of the monarchy I think that is a good thing because I believe it is time for it to be overhauled, but that’s another matter.

  30. K8erade says:

    The only way I see this monarchy being saved is by some miracle Edward became king. I’m not huge fans of him and Sophie but I think they’re more than capable of being monarchs.

    • Where'sMyTiara says:

      Given his outward signs of some degree of Long Covid, it seems unlikely.

      Also Harry is ahead of him and Andrew, behind Huevo’s kids. Despite all the Rota’s wailing, Harry has not been removed from succession.

      W’s kids, H & his kids, Andrew & his kids would all need to be removed from the succession for Edward to sit the throne. 10 people.

    • Tip says:

      If Edward becomes the monarchy’s last hope I’m convinced it will end immediately. Close scrutiny of Edward and Sophie has never left me impressed. They’re better in the background.

    • Fwiw says:

      Could Edward be Regent for George for a decade or so?

      I’m pretty sure Charles can’t just pick his own successor. He might be able to convince/pay off William to abdicate after Charles dies. Then George would need a Regent. But who chooses the Regent?

      • Harla A Brazen Hussy says:

        I believe that if William abdicates before George turns 18 then Harry will be the next in line, that if William abdicates before George’s 18th birthday then the Cambridge line no longer succeeds to the throne.

      • K8erade says:

        I’m pretty certain Harry would also refuse. He doesn’t want it for him or his family. Andrew would be next in line but the public would certainly riot.

      • windyriver says:

        Neither of these make sense. There’s a line of succession, and it means something. If William abdicates before George is 18, the next adult in line would act as regent. That would be Harry, who would be regent until George is of age. Harry wouldn’t become monarch. His place in the succession remains after Charlotte and Louis. And unless I’m missing something, William can’t abdicate on behalf of the rest of his family, who are the next three in line. It doesn’t matter if he abdicates before or after George is 18.

        The sticking point for people here has always been whether Harry is still considered domiciled in the UK for this purpose, and that of counsellor of state, now that Frogmore was yanked. The answer is yes. He’s retained his “domicile of origin”, which is the UK; whether or not he lives there or has property is not relevant. (See House of Commons Library/Regency and Counsellors of State, 6 February 2024.)

        If for whatever reason Harry is unable or unwilling (or unwanted?), next in line in order would be Andrew, Beatrice, Eugenie, and then Edward. I’m not that familiar with the Regency Act, but presumably Parliament would have to do something if anyone other than Harry is named regent.

  31. Reader1 says:

    Something I’m curious about that I haven’t seen answered: when did Charles (and BP) find out that Kate had cancer?
    To be fair, I’m getting my summaries mostly from this site, but a cursory google search only turned up a March 22 People story with the headline “King Charles Informed of Kate Middleton’s Cancer Diagnosis as He Also Undergoes Treatment for Cancer”, that makes it sound like he found out pretty close to March 22. A couple of thoughts:
    -If Charles knew much sooner, that’s impressive that KC, Camilla, BP kept a lid on it that long. But also, sort of horrible that they let KP dig themselves into a PR hole, knowing that was the story.
    -If Charles found out close to the public announcement, that doesn’t really support the “Charles and Kate are so close” narrative.
    And this is where it gets into that line that the monarchy is also a JOB. If a pro athlete decided to take 2 months off for mystery health issues, people would respect their privacy AND still have lots of questions about timing, and how that plays out with the prospects of the team, finances, etc.

    • BayTampaBay says:

      I would guess the KCIII found about Kate’s cancer the day William missed the memorial service for Constantine II.

    • Claire says:

      Good question. Does anyone know if members of the press knew about Kate’s cancer and if so when? I know that the rota was filled in on some things and alluded several times that things were serious and she’s probably be out for longer than originally planned, but I’m unclear if they only knew about whatever serious condition necessitates the original surgery or if they also learned at some point after the surgery that she had cancer? It seems that Kate and William took great pains to make sure this news didn’t leak for whatever reason – to the point where they didn’t fill their own staff in on what was really going on (which tells me they probably worried they had some leaks / moles amongst their staff). If any of the press knew that Kate had cancer, to me that means that Charles also knew – of they start to let anyone know, they wouldn’t really be able to keep it from Charles. So if Piers Morgan knew (and his source is prob Camilla), that means Charles also knew. But I could also see Kate and William putting off telling Charles if they were worried that he had leaks within Buckingham Palace (heck even Camilla is a known leaker), so maybe they delayed telling Charles for that reason?

  32. Feeshalori says:

    Has there been anything from Omid Scobie? He’s been very quiet during all these revelations and upheaval, and not being on Twitter/X I wouldn’t know if he’s written anything there.

    • ArtFossil says:

      Scobie doesn’t post frequently on Twitter, but when he does, it’s worth reading. I suggest your follow him there.

      • Feeshalori says:

        I’m not on Twitter and can only read his articles on Yahoo News when they’re published there. And there’s been nothing at all.

  33. sparrow says:

    Wow! He’s not having an affair but Charles doesn’t want him having affairs like he did. So, he is?

  34. QuiteContrary says:

    Drinks don’t necessarily mean beers. If Willy is downing four glasses of hard liquor a night, he’s going to be hungover as hell.

    And I’m guessing he’s a mean drunk.

    I’m also guessing that part of his anger against Harry is that he knows he won’t have another chance to hit him. Harry broke the code of silence. To an abuser who counts on silence, that would be unforgivable.

  35. Bad Janet says:

    I wouldn’t put stock in the In Touch report of his prognosis. I was an oncology hospice worker for ten years. Two years is oddly, suspiciously specific, especially considering we don’t even know what kind of cancer he has or how advanced it is, and he hasnt been undergoing treatment that long – how could his doctors, even, know what to expect. This is made up.

    Don’t set your watches, but the fact is King Charles is old and not healthy, and is undergoing immune system weakening treatment when there are multiple outbreaks going on. He is certainly not having the regency he hoped for and it may well be shorter than he hoped for. William is immature, arrogant, and unprepared for the duties of a king. The only thing that could be good about this is it may hasten the end of the monarchy when William inevitably screws up and the public decides they don’t want 40 years of King William.

    • Iolanthe says:

      What a prospect. .King William. I don’t think the country would want this loose cannon on the throne, even if he is just a show piece . They left it too late to knock him into shape. As heir , where was he being groomed in state craft, history , age old tradition , languages . Elizabeth and Charles were prepared , their spouses understood the system . Diana would have made a stellar Queen but Camilla is clever enough to make the right moves and so far hasn’t been the embarrassing chavvy nitwit Kate has proven to be . I don’t think Harry or Meghan are waiting breathlessly in the wings to take over in any way . When Edward VIII abdicated, his brother was dreading the idea of becoming King . His wife always said the stress shortened his life . Harry who actually served in the forces knows what duty, honour and country mean. But I don’t think he would ever give up his family life to support Prince George ..that poor lad , at eleven, with Kate, William and Carole bullying the life out of him , probably will need counselling before such the weight is dumped on him

      • rosa mwemaid says:

        Always felt sorry for George, give the job to Charlotte, far more outgoing.

      • Tessa says:

        George 6 died of cancer and was a heavy smoker. Princess Margaret was also a heavy smoker and died relatively young

  36. Tessa says:

    Charles should have been worrying 20 years ago.

  37. Henny Penny says:

    I agree that William is a huge disappointment. But at the core, he’s an untreated trauma victim. The institution killed his mother in one way or another, and at 16 he was thrown out in front at her funeral to shield his father and grandmother from the public’s rage and to quell their grief. I cannot imagine being 16 (or any age) and having to comfort thousands of people at my own mother’s funeral while never being allowed to shed a tear of my own.

    I think William suffers from CPTSD and likely does have substance abuse problems and a significant anger issue as a result.

    I also believe after reading Spare that Camilla fostered the rivalry between the brothers by openly preferring and coddling William to keep William under her control. The way that horrid woman smiles gives me the serious creeps. From the looks of it, everything has turned out her way.

    I am not saying anyone should jump on the William Pity Train. He’s sadly squandering any good will he could have had if he’d been smarter and had better guardians. But I am saying that it’s just not as simple as “Harry good“ “William bad.” Monarchies are inherently bad for all of the children born into them.

    The Institution counted on Harry always being there to both shield and prop up William. Then Meghan rode in her horse and rescued him out of that toxic mess (Thank God and Tyler Perry!). These dumb people pushed out their best man without anything resembling a Plan B.

    • Tara says:

      ” Then Meghan rode up on her horse and rescued him from this toxic mess (thank God and Tyler Perry!)” 💯 I love the imagery this sentence creates.

      I also agree that William is an untreated trauma victim. I also think that’s what Harry was trying to say – that he wished his brother would look there too. I also think it’s hard when you’re used to seeing yourself as flawless and living in an environment that treats you that way, and at the same time coming to the realization that any form of therapy is an unforgivable weakness. Even if you run mental health campaigns in public. It’s the devaluation between the lines that makes up the royal protocol.

      And yet – you can’t overlook the fact that this is a grown man who can make his own decisions. And if he can’t, then he really wouldn’t be suitable for a leadership role. That’s the crux of the matter.

  38. Mads says:

    After reading the comments above and people speculating William’s fitness to be king, it does put some context as to why certain rota members (Richard Eden) have openly stated that Harry should be removed from the line of succession, an act that would remove Archie and Lily too. Given that they know how dangerous a precedent that would be in a time where support for the monarchy is falling, makes me more convinced things are dire behind the scenes.

  39. maisie says:

    If they’re saying 2 years than he’s got a lot less time than that, honestly. Average survival after a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is about 6 months.

    And, just for the record, Tindal called William “One-Pint Willy” not because he drinks in moderation, but because dude can’t hold his liquor.

  40. samipup says:

    Just reading about the Romanovs. William seems to be a lot like NicholasII