Prince Harry is headed to London next week. I would actually bet that he’s flying over the weekend, but he will definitely be in London next Monday, September 8th, for the WellChild Awards. The big question – I guess – is whether Harry will meet his father. There’s no question of a meeting between brothers. Harry will not see Prince William, and William has rage-ranted for years now that the next time he’ll see or speak to his brother is at their father’s funeral. Speaking of, this all leads into The Royalist’s latest Substack piece, which is chock-a-block full of interesting information. Not about Harry, but about King Charles’s relationship with his heir, and William’s general unwillingness to do anything but go on vacation and rage-brief about his brother. Some highlights:
The roadblock: The real roadblock to a Charles/Harry reconciliation is what sources say is a very strained relationship between Charles and his son and heir, William. Put simply, the big picture is that William thinks Charles’ monarchy has not modernized as much as it should have. He thinks it still radiates pomposity and looks out of touch, thanks to Charles’ love of uniforms and ermine, and William disdains the prioritization of duty over an individual’s health and wellbeing. Charles thinks William is shirking the most basic element of the job—appearing, in person, all over the country, come rain or shine, and that his prioritization of family life over royal duty is inappropriate. But Charles is hugely afraid of making the relationship between him and William even worse than it already is.
William doesn’t think Charles should meet with Harry: William is being guided on the issue by his own grievance against Harry but also by domestic public opinion, which shows a large majority of the people do not believe Charles should grant Harry an audience, thereby effectively re-admitting him to the royal fold.
A friend of Peg: A friend of William told me this week that William believes his hand has been strengthened by the renewed disgrace of Prince Andrew, over whose fate Charles has vacillated. The friend said: “William always said, just cut Andrew off completely. It’s not appropriate to have an alleged sex offender breaking bread with the royal family. Charles was so desperate to be seen as embodying the spirit of Christian forgiveness that he let Andrew back in. Then the Lownie book happened. Now, is history going to repeat itself with a photo of Harry and the king having tea? It’s absurd to even imagine that after what Harry said, unless there is some form of direct apology from Harry. William was right about Andrew, and he is right about Harry. Charles is weak. William is anything but weak.” The friend added, “Ultimately, William is a loyal soldier. He respects his father’s rank, and he respects his father’s right to make his own decisions and he won’t make a fuss. But he thinks a Harry meeting is a terrible, terrible idea.”
Charles & William’s relationship: Another family friend of the royals described the relationship between William and the king to me this week as tense, difficult, formal and fraught, with William having a “deep-seated resentment” toward his father rooted in childhood trauma, a particularly pertinent issue today (Aug. 31), the anniversary of Diana’s death. The two men only rarely speak informally, with most of their communication mediated by their private secretaries, this source said. They do not tend to meet informally.
Charles didn’t see William & Kate in Balmoral: One former Buckingham Palace staffer who maintains good contacts with current staff told me that William and the king had spent no time at all together privately when William and Kate were in Balmoral last week. The king preferred to withdraw to the privacy of his own private home, Birkhall, eight miles from the castle on the enormous Scottish estate. The former staffer said: “Charles believes in tradition, and continuity above all. William thinks many aspects of his father’s approach are outdated, preferring a more modern interpretation of monarchy.”
William refused to go to VJ Day: I asked this source about two rumors I have heard this year. William apparently demurred at being sent to the Pope’s funeral because his soccer team, Aston Villa, was playing on the same day. The king was aghast when William’s position filtered back, and ultimately, William went. However, William was not persuaded to attend the VJ Day commemorations earlier this month, a decision that I have been told dismayed the king. The source said: “Both absolutely true. To William, continuing to run the monarchy as though it were still an Edwardian institution feels absurd. To Charles, his son’s more casual approach can feel like a lack of respect for duty and tradition.”
“William was right about Andrew, and he is right about Harry. Charles is weak. William is anything but weak.” William is jealous of Harry, William is stupid and lazy, and William reportedly has a violent temper. All of that makes William very weak indeed. This is the man who got manipulated by a family of grifters and ended up married to one of them. This is the man who thinks honoring WWII veterans is an Edwardian throwback!! This is a man who wanted to shrug off a pope’s funeral so he could attend a football match in person! Like… I think Charles is a horrible father and a very weak man as well – but at least Charles has some understanding of what “the job” entails, and part of that job is “showing empathy and care to one’s family” AND “working.” William’s idea of a modern monarchy is “doing f–k all, refusing to attend significant national events, skipping the funerals of world leaders and going on endless vacations.”
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- (left to right) King Charles III, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales attend a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in London on the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Picture date: Thursday May 8, 2025. NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS,Image: 996578922, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red/Avalon
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- The Prince of Wales and King Charles III attend a service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in London on the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Picture date: Thursday May 8, 2025. NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS,Image: 996579270, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red/Avalon
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales attend a service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in London on the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Picture date: Thursday May 8, 2025. NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS,Image: 996579365, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red/Avalon
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- Prince William, Prince of Wales, attends a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey on the 80th anniversary of VE Day, London, UK, 08 May2025.,Image: 996583504, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: JULIAN SIMMONDS/Avalon
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales leave after attending a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in London on the 80th anniversary of VE Day.,Image: 996608021, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon
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- The Prince of Wales, Great Master of the Order, and King Charles III, Sovereign Head of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, arrive for the Service for the Oath and Installation of the Great Master and the Knights Grand Cross, at Westminster Abbey in London. Picture date: Friday May 16, 2025. The King is taking part in the service for the first time as sovereign of the order, which is awarded to members of the military or Civil Service for exemplary work and this year celebrates its 300th anniversary.,Image: 999861003, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red/Avalon
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- WINDSOR, ENGLAND – JULY 08: Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales attend the State Banquet at Windsor Castle on July 08, 2025 in Windsor, England. President Emmanuel Macron and Mrs Brigitte Macron visit the UK in the first visit State Visit made by France in 17 years. They are staying at Windsor Castle, hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla, and a banquet will be held there in their honour. The Macrons will visit Imperial College, and the President will address Parliament during his stay.,Image: 1019895989, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson/Avalon
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- William Prince of Wales Order of The Bath Service Westminster Abbey.London,United Kingdom 16th May 2025 Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 16 May 2025 Credit: Cover Images
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- Trooping the Colour 2025 ceremony, marking the monarch’s official birthday Featuring: King Charles III, Prince William, Prince Louis and Prince George Where: London, United Kingdom When: 14 Jun 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Yeah, Sykes really breaks it down. William’s idea of a “modern monarchy” isn’t just about skipping the ribbon-cutting events and eschewing visits to nursing homes. No, William’s “modern” and “non-Edwardian” monarchy is really about chucking key national commemorations like VJ Day and major “Willy the global spokesman” opportunities like the Pope’s funeral. Because Aston is playing… sorry, meant because VJ Day and world leaders’ funerals are “Edwardian” or something.
He’s neither global nor a statesman. He’s an endless drain on taxpayer finances with no material ROI.
No soft power, no soft diplomacy. Just laziness with his Duchess Dolittle (or should that be Princess Dolittle now?).
How about Imperial Wizard Dolittle? Put those 3 K’s to work.
And let’s not forget that Charles is Supreme Governor of the Church of England – if he can’t or won’t do peace, forgiveness, repentance and loving kindness within his own family, he’s not much of a Christian. No moral compass or leadership as Head of the CoE or Head of state. His cowardice due to fear of William as well as fear of the press will inevitably taint his legacy.
And don’t get me started at the prospect of William becoming Head of the Church of England. Good grief.
Will’s team have an unenviable task as they attempt to style his lack of effort as something positive eg modernizer instead of stubborn refusal to perform core duties. This modernizer lark isn’t going to wash forever. Once he actually inherits and he doesn’t turn up as expected there is no hiding that. A tweet won’t do. VJ went ahead with the King and as long as KC is able and active, Will and continue to coast. However, once he is King he HAS to show up regularly and I just can’t see BM covering for him if he embarrasses the UK on both a local and national stage. The faithful believe he is going to be a relatively young and energetic King. Can their hopes and expectations be realised under King Will?
Skipping VJ Day for more holiday after months of holiday can’t be justified as Edwardian. That’s insulting to the veterans who actually served and defended the country for his own benefit.
Skipping the funny robe ceremonies is one thing, but William doesn’t seem to understand that honouring veterans isn’t a silly ceremony. And for someone who allegedly served in the Air Force, it is even more despicable for him to have done this.
Yet at the Coronation, the Keens took a “video” of the “preparations”. With Charlotte seen walking around in her long robes, George was going as page boy and in regalia. And also how come Keen “cared” enough to create a put together Tiara that cost thousands? Instead of wearing the wreath design like the others did And how come Keen could not wait to wear some of the jewels of the Queen. Those two contradict themselves.
The jealousy and obsession William has re Prince Harry is all he is remembered for now. As king, I can only imagine how demonic he will be.
Agreed so many nuggets here especially the estrangement between Chuck and Willy.
Let’s face it Willy, you were the main beneficiary of the lucky sperm club. To the taxpayer’s cost.
“Ultimately, William is a loyal soldier.”
😂😂😂😂
“He respects his father’s rank, “
🤣🤣🤣🤣
That’s why he was late to his father’s coronation.
“and he respects his father’s right to make his own decisions and he won’t make a fuss. But he thinks a Harry meeting is a terrible, terrible idea.”
And that’s why he’s briefing all his minions especially psycho Sykes. 😏
Sure Willy. You lazy, angry, violent waste of space. Harry is a million times better than you.
I’d like to see a Chuck photo-op with Harry with IG. It’s only appropriate with the veterans (VJ80) since Chuck is head of the forces. Symbolic and a big FU to Willy.
There’s a lot they’re not really saying but hinting at, here. He respects “his father’s rank” is not at all the same as saying he respects “his father”, and that is significant I think.
And saying he is a “loyal soldier” when he couldn’t even be arsed to turn up for a significant event honouring actual soldiers?
William’s only priority is himself. He could prioritise his family life and still do a hell of a lot more than he is doing in terms of work. His idea of “modernising” the Royal Family is to achieve a situation where he takes all the money, but gets at least 12 holidays a year and only has to turn up to the fun stuff like football matches. I’m really not sure the public are going to buy that.
It doesn’t matter to the country whether he respects his father or not. Respecting Charles’ rank as king means doing what Charles tells him to do. The same with “loyal soldier” – it’s about being loyal to the Commander-in-Chief, who is Charles. So basically, William is a rotten “liege man of life and limb” (as he pledged to Charles during the Coronation), he’s a rotten soldier and he’s a rotten son.
And he’ll be the weakest king since Henry VI
You left out the part where they spent no time together at Bamoral. All the press is so blah blah blah, Balmoral summer, family time, etc., etc., but Chuckie stayed in Birkhall & didn’t bother to spend time with his heir & family? Zowie!
So for the issue of duty vs mental health or family obligations (two different things) – there has to be a middle
Road right? Charles worked constantly during his boys’ childhoods and was pretty much an absentee father. William says he doesn’t want to be like that. But there’s a middle road. There’s a difference between never being available (emotionally or otherwise) and never working.
William keeps talking about modernizing the monarchy but it’s clear that to him, that means barely working with lots of vacations – all the perks with none of the work.
And all that said, attending the popes funeral and VJ Day aren’t going to make William an absentee father. It’s insulting that he’s trying to act like it does.
Yeah there should be a middle road. This whole argument is asinine. No one is asking William to ignore his family. Most dads work more than William does. Going to a VJ Day event after having spent 2 months of vacation with your kids, presumably seeing them every day, is not asking too much. It’s not an either or. Having to do one work event over a very long summer holiday does not mean you are choosing duty over family, omg.
I am concerned about bringing up 3 children to believe that work is optional if you don’t feel like it or it is not something that brings you joy, Also that just by turning up you are somehow “entitled” to a standing ovation at Wimbledon?! Forget hard work and learning languages, world history etc., just freeload and enjoy the perks, power and privacy ? What sort of values are those?
Kate and William seem to have a lot of resentment towards the work. If it’s that objectionable, then maybe the monarchy shouldn’t exist.
It’s hard for me to know what kind of work is required and expected of the monarch. I can look it up on Wikipedia, but I don’t know what are the actual pressures of the job and from where they come. Right now, William can lob grenades from behind Charles’ ermine-lined cape, but what will be the pressure once he’s king?
The Kings main near daily job is to read the contents of his red boxes, which are about what the government is doing. Apart from turning up for his coronation, the State opening of Parliament and probably VJ day and Remembrance day that is about it.
@sunnyside up – There are also weekly meetings with the PM, aren’t there? And the red box also contains intelligence briefings, documents that need signing, information from around the Commonwealth, etc. The monarch gets them every day, regardless of holidays, and I don’t think he can pass the duty on to anybody else. I wonder if they will helicopter the box out to a yacht in the Ionian Sea.
How useful to the running of the government can those monarch-prime minister meetings be? Are they REALLY necessary? Does the PM need to run decisions by the king and seek counsel from him? William isn’t going to understand any of those red box documents unless they are written as football analogies in all caps.
@Gabby – I don’t know about useful or necessary, but this is the role of the monarch, it’s the order of things and it’s embedded in the way the UK works. As the chief representative and diplomat of the UK, William should know what’s happening in the world and what the UK’s stance is on every issue. At the very least, it’s his duty not to be a raging embarrassment in public.
William isn’t a moron and no one is asking him to solve the Reimann Hypothesis. Domestic and international issues are not difficult to comprehend – it’s just information to be read and studied. People do it every day and there’s no reason why he can’t – except that he doesn’t want to.
William could have attended the service with his kids. They are all old enough to take part in a church service.
Peggs let Andrew walk right next to him and his wife and children. He was seen with Andrew on numerous occasions. Peg does not put his health first otherwise he would have sought counseling for his anger issues. Charles coddled William for years and he’s surprised at how he turned out. I hope harry does not try to visit his father
So Charles is estranged from both his sons, so he’s gonna go with Harry for his bet as giving the impression of being a good father . Lazy willie is still lazy and part of creating his own path is being more modern by staying lazy as he alwas was. Bravo, what a future king they’ll have
William doesn’t like fancy capes, but he loves to show off his dinky velvet airplane slippers
He just wants to be demoted to a lazy Duke with a country pile. Wearing his velvet slippers, and sipping port or cognac.
How Edwardian.
perfect 😉
Lol… Will is too Middletonized for port or cognac. He and the Mrs. will drink crackbabies and throw “pillows” at each other.
That’s pretty much all his is already though. Except he has a collection of country piles, not just the one.
But I think his vanity means that he needs to have everybody bow down to him. So he wouldn’t be happy as a plain old lord.
I love how those huge houses and castles are perfectly described by the British as “country piles”. It is very apt, albeit, wonderfully tongue in cheek🙃.
Can anyone tell me, how did that term originate? Thank you.
I agree with Kaiser’s assessment 100%. William thinks he’s strong in the same way a toddler thinks he’s in control because he throws tantrums and screams no. In fact, he is lazy, ignorant, lacks imagination and intelligence. But everyone will grovel at this feet when he ascends the throne. He’ll be the toddler king.
That’s insulting to well-behaved toddlers who have their emotions under control.
Yes!
Peg’s ambitions sound childish, lol. “When I become king, will take vacations every month and watch all the football I want, and nobody can stop me!” Grow up, Peg.
Commemorating veterans and those who died in wars is part of how William has a crown to inherit in the first place.
How utterly lazy, selfish, and stupid that he doesn’t see that.
Exactly. The British monarchy was at risk itself during WWII. The Queen lived through it to know that and Charles understands that too. William seems to think being modern means ignoring the sacrifice those men made for the Windsor family to maintain its grasp on power.
So peggs is insulting working father s . Not all people have the luxury that peg does shirking and considers sports watching work. Peggs needed counseling and he’ll never get it now
William is a piece of work. His justifications for his laziness are unbelievable, and his arrogance is off the charts. He’s always absolutely right, and so everyone should do what he says. He believes that they shouldn’t behave like an Edwardian institution, that’s why he as the literal heir to the throne shouldn’t go to the Pope’s funeral. Because he’d rather watch a football match. On the other hand, his brother speaking out about institutional racism and them being in bed with the press to their detriment is betrayal???
He has to be an absolute nightmare to deal with on a personal or professional level. He’s always right, the only thing that people should care about are things that he cares about and make him look good, any pushback against what he wants is betrayal, and you should accept his behavior regardless of whether it is violent, disrespectful, arrogant, or ignorant. He’s actually lucky that he is married to Kate, because if he was married to anyone else he would be on his fourth divorce by now.
I hope this puts to bed all the nonsense about how close Willy and Pa are, and how they are aligned on the ” Harry problem”. At some point these royalists have to acknowledge that SOMETHING Harry said about those dynamics has to be true.
I wonder if he cheated on Jecca with Lazy Kate that’s why that relationship broke up. As many have said Lazy tolerated his affairs and cheating – as long as he returned to her she didn’t mind. Though this was not the case with Rose.
Perhaps Lazy thought she was the Queen Bee of the Turnip Toffs but people reminded her she was the outsider, that they only tolerate her because of her husband’s position.
Jecca was never an official girlfriend but he went on hunting trips with her and Harry.
Kate was always pushed aside for Jecca. For William’s 21st birthday, jecca was at the main table but Kate was not. And for the tenth anniversary concert in 2007, Jecca was seated much closer to William than Kate.
(Harry was with Chelsy and so they sat together).
Kate was believed to be the reason why William broke up with his initial girlfriend at St Andrews.
Jecca and Will allegedly had a “pretend engagement.” I think they had a connection at some point. She may not have been interested in him and moved on. Also Will named publicly Jecca as his Guest of Honor at his birthday party.
There was an article a while back that talked about how William and Charles speak on the phone once a week and clearly even that was a stretch so yeah they ain’t close.
Can’t imagine Willie’s supposed “priority” of his family & the “legendery ” school run makes him a good father. Unlike his absent father, I imagine he has a seriously volatile relationship with their mother, which means that the children are all privy to all the rows, & “pillow throwing” & their father’s incandescent rage. And I don’t believe father lives with the mother & children.
The prioritizing his family has always been a feeble excuse to do f**k all in his actual job! He’s used it ever since he’s had children! When I doubt he’s done much hands on parenting, since they’ve always had nannies for the kids.I wonder what rationale he’s use when the children are all in boarding schools ???
Uniforms and ermine and a sense of duty look out of touch, but constant vacationing, multiple lavish homes (and forcing elderly retired cardiologists out of theirs), helicopters, and slum-lording? Totally relatable! Endearing, even! 🙄🙄 I thought that the ceremony and pomposity provided by the monarchy were supposed to be the primary reasons it still exists, but William wants to do away with all that and just be his parasitic self. I mean, deadbeat assholes as heads of state is like, the absolute WORST Americanism imaginable.
At least Americans can vote out their head of state. Willy is stuck as the figurehead until there’s a republic.
But Chuck managed to be king even after the Diana fallout. I suppose they’ll have to manage Willy and his temper by ensuring he only sticks to domestic events and make it wholly choreographed like what they’re doing now.
I think peggs will cause the republic movement to intensify
Much as I’d like to see a republic, I don’t think it will happen because there are too many vested interests wanting to prop them up.
What I can see though is when Willy goes MIA or refuses to do a state dinner or open parliament, they’ll cut off his funding. I’m hoping for the duchies but even taking his Uber chopper away will make a difference.
William is a loyal soldier. He respects his father’s rank, and he respects his father’s right to make his own decisions and he won’t make a fuss.
Wow dude what an outrageous lie and smack in the middle of the pissy FK rage briefing at length on his usual pet peeves: banishing Harry and pooping all over his dad. He won’t make a fuss? When is he not shouting. shoving. sulking. pouting, jabbing his fingers in the faces of others, plotting with Jason and just being a jerk! No wonder this raging pudding has no time to work.
Such a loyal soldier that his “friend” runs to the DB to tell them how it would be a very very bad idea for his dad to bring Harry back into he royal fold. Who says anyone is going back into the royal fold!!! And this is where it gets ridiculous. Harry wants to see his dad who has cancer. He has no idea how long he has left. And just bc Harry and Charles meet or talk does not mean he’s back in the royal fold. That’s a huge leap. This is where the family vs the firm becomes absurd. Harry can talk to his dad without it meaning anything for the firm. Except they won’t let it be that way apparently.
They’re also very carefully equating Harry to Andrew. Like s*x offender and doesn’t do what his brother says to do are the same level of offense.
Harry should not visit his father now. Charles needs to stop the media hate campaign against the sussexes. Apologize to Meghan. And give the sussexes a,secure place to stay in the uk
This! 100%.
As usual, reminded of the childhood video of Will, Harry, Diana, and the bunny. Will has always been jealous of his brother and treated him second class to make himself feel better. He tells himself he’s so special because he secretly wants what Harry has…. it’s always been that way.
My theory has always been Will hates Harry/Meg because he can’t believe his loser bro got the hot chick from Suits.
If Chuckles was smarter he’d use this dynamic to get Will in line. But alas… not happening.
I am honestly starting to think that William never got over getting a younger sibling. Feelings of jealousy towards sibling newcomers is normal in young children but healthy children grow out of it. However, the Windsors and the entire institution are so damn dysfunctional that William apparently skipped significant developmental phases in early childhood. It is both incredibly sad and utterly bonkers.
I’ve always thought that and if you listen to the way that Diana described her sons’ personalities very early on, I think she thought so too 🙁
Wow, this has really become a public spat. Such an interesting story – Charles drove out Harry in favor of the heir, and now the heir openly sneers at him and refuses to do his duty. William is the exact opposite of a “loyal soldier” who respects the king’s rank.
Charles is a petty, petty man – it would be hilarious if he invited Harry for a nice long chat over a cup of tea.
The stumbling block I see is the Rottweiler. She’ll screed to her minions if Chuck and Harry meet up.
Maybe she can join forces with Willy 🤔
Harry’s not a threat. Even if he and Charles reconcile, Harry’s life is now in California. William is the much juicer target. I can see Camilla playing the “peacemaker” and plotting a much greater rift between Charles and William.
She’s still mad at Harry over Spare and her “dead bodies.”
But I agree, Willy poses an existential threat to her. Who knows, with her cigarette smoking and hard drinking, Chuck might outlive her.
I think Camilla hates William more than she hates Harry. Sure Harry’s comments probably ticked her off but she also knows that they’re true so I can see her grabbing a drink and a cigarette and shrugging, saying “and what if I did leave bodies in the street? I’m queen now aren’t i?”
But I get the vibe that she strongly dislikes/hates William and Kate. She sees the worst of both of them
And I’m sure it’s not pretty. Factor in their laziness while Charles undergoes cancer treatment, their refusal to attend certain events, their lateness to the coronation etc – I think she would “allow” a superficial Harry-Charles reconciliation because it would rile up William, and I think she would choose that every time.
@Becks! – Lol at Camilla’s shrug – total super villain. In her own way, Camilla cares for Charles and is protective of him (as she tenderly wiped the ink on his fingers from the leaky pen). If it makes Charles happy to harmlessly reconcile with Harry, then she’ll go for it – especially if it means William gets a good smack across the muzzle.
Unfortunately, Camilla has to Play Nice with William. Unless Charles has an iron clad agreement that William cannot touch. She and Keen dislike each other but also “play nice” I do think that she likes to encourage the Lazy Keens stories. Which is OK.
@Tessa – I don’t think Camilla has to play nice with William. What can he do to her? She owns her own property and I’m sure Charles has set her up financially quite nicely. Assuming she outlives him, once Charles is dead, she’ll have no obligations other than herself.
Charles could leave Camilla everything that isn’t state property if he wanted. Balmoral, Sandringham, a huge chunk of the jewelry etc. Including some (most) of the best stuff. He won’t because of taxes and tradition but he could. And it would be kind of a hilarious FU to William.
Harry should not trust Charles until some conditions are met
If William were a decent bloke he would be encouraging his father to talk to Harry.
If William were decent , he would not have tried to break up Harry and Meghan,, had that sneak attack on Harry, threw a tantrum at the meeting about Harry in 2020, William caused much of the problem. His father if a decent person would not have let William drive out Harry.
Honestly, the underlying message that Charles and William do not like each other is nothing that hasn’t been said before. It’s been known for years that the two of them do not get along. Whatever “improvements” they had over the last few years was simply superficial and temporary since they had a common enemy in H&M. Said “enemy” are gone and because these things never last in the first place, William and Charles are now back to where they are. Hating each other.
Where to start?
For years the media told us that Willi, having his own childhood trauma and grievances with his father Charles and step-mother Camilla, was able to deal with all of this in private, managing it and moving on it. Now bit by bit we learn that actually Willi has not moved on, bottled his grievances with his father and is still holding on to them so that he is not even speaking terms with his father. It seems that Willi is jealous of Harry because Harry was able to air his grievances in public, working through his trauma, really able to move on and build his own life while he (Willi) is caught in the institution. Willi has no way out. Harry was right!
To compare Harry who spoke about his experience in the Monarchy as his father Charles did years to Andrew who has been accused of sex offenses is just beyond ridiculous.
Willi is the representative of the Monarchy and his country so it is his job to represent them at a funeral of a world leader and to honour the veterans of WWII including his own grandfather. Simple as that. Willi wants to be a world leader.
And this emotional support polls are so fraud. With Willi relying on them he might misread the room.
Smooth transition between the reigns is just not going to happen. Will has opened up the floodgates of speculation with the double whammy of VJ no show plus relocation to Forest Lodge which dashed a lot of hopes that PoW would begin getting to grips with his role as heir. No such luck. which is why these articles are happening: nibbling around the edges and citing modernization wrapped around worrying information about just how far apart dad and son are.
Sykes is a coward, and a two-faced royal rat with zero journalistic integrity. He doesn’t write these things in his DailyBeast columns. I posted this on today’s previous article …
” .. The (more unfavourable) things about the left-behind royals he says/reveals on Substack, lets his colleague write (for him) in the DailyBeast Royalist columns, so that he can still have access to Willy/the KP snakes, and be able to write his weekly KP briefings to bash H&M on behalf of Willy, and if needed, Charles and or C&C – like his latest one regarding Willy’s trantrum taking his father and his reign down (per Willy’s useal ‘friends’ and ‘palace contacts’), inlight of Harry’s UK visit next Monday.
Agree, Sykes is a two-faced royal rat. Sprinkling his piece with gratuitous asides about Meghan and her show, for the derangers in the cheap seats, just underscores that.
But I’m curious about this piece because it makes both sides look terrible. Sykes confirms the rumors that William wanted to watch AV instead of go to the Pope’s funeral, also that William straight-up refused to interrupt his vacation for VJ Day. Sykes reports with a straight face that William thinks this is what a modern, un-Edwardian monarchy looks like–but he’s throwing a lot of shade here. William also comes out looking like a petulant child with sibling jealousy issues. Charles comes out looking like a weak man with a strong work ethic. So I can’t figure out who briefed Sykes; maybe both sides did.
Sykes is under pressure at the Daily Beast by Joanna Coles and the new ownership to do more tabloid style reporting which would naturally require him to shred Harry and Meghan, because that’s what a 65 year old royalist would want to see. He seems to have started the substack to put more pieces out there about how the sausage is made. On the other hand, he has been the named author of several W&K bombshells and wrote a scathing piece about the froideur between William Kate and Charles and William and Kate’s obsession with portraying a perfect marriage when it isn’t perfect earlier this year
Charles bet on the wrong horse. It is clearly Harry who is responsible, noble, compassionate, and honourable.
As circumstances dictate, Charles is stuck with a loser of an heir.
The monarch is the head of state. All heads of states are expected to attend important country milestones and yearly rituals. All heads of state attend or send a high level representative to the funerals of other heads of state – like the pope. Does he quite understand that the monarch is the head of state? It appears not.
Charles and William didn’t even meet in Balmoral?? 👀 No wonder everyone in that (carefully arranged) pap shot of the Waleses’ car on the way to church looked so tense…that’s unprecedented, isn’t it?
But is it unprecedented? We don’t know if they ever actually meet up during these Balmoral visits. Maybe not seeing each other is the norm. Someone telling us they didn’t meet up might be unprecedented though. So thanks, William’s friend and Sykes for making sure we know. And possibly they did all see each other at least once or something and this year there was zero contact, making even colder than previous years.
I’d love to know who leaked this story because both KFC and W come across negatively.
According to previous reporting, I’d say it’s quite unprecedented. Like the “William and Kate are so keen!” articles that used to show up every year, reporting on QEII and her annual Balmoral holiday with her nearest and dearest used to run like clockwork.
Think of all the articles and video footage of Philip, QEII, their four children and barbecues. There were articles published about the annual Ghillies Ball and even video footage of Diana attending. Then, in the next generation there were all the breathless articles about how changing clothes was SO demanding, however would a commoner like Kate be able to handle such a challenging thing, especially the last night which involved formal wear and tiaras! Not to mention the infamous “Balmoral Test” that was depicted in The Crown (and more recently, was reported about because apparently Peter Philip’s fiancée passed with flying colors). And on and on. Not to mention the phased departures and arrivals by rank starting with QEII and Philip on their precious train because SO HUMBLE….
….so amongst all of this for William (and the rest of the Waleses) and Charles to not even meet at Balmoral? Quite unprecedented! (sips tea)
It definitely seems colder and yes unprecedented for how it was when the queen was around. Did the Wales even go to Balmoral last year what with Kate’s health issue? I can’t remember.
Re VJ Day: to UK active duty and veterans, this is your future commander in chief. To the faithful, this is your future Head of the Church of England. To all Brits, this is your future heaad of state and head of nation. You’re stuck with William unless he passes or he abdicates. The wrong son is inheriting the throne.
Camilla doens’t like William because she knows the moment he becomes king he’ll have the power of the Crown to get his revenge on her for Diana. I think William can throw Camilla off the Privy Council, remove honors or go to Parliament to strip her of titles. A lot of people will not be upset if William gets his lick back on Camilla, which is why I think she is leaking to the press, to weaken William.
William still did call his mother paranoid. And censored the Bashir interview. Which is not supporting his deceased mother.
Does Camilla even care about that stuff? William won’t be able to erase the fact that she was married to the King. Maybe he can disinvite her from the balcony or something, but I’ve never had the impression that she liked those events. As long as she has money, she’ll be fine.
Charles could leave Camilla everything not nailed down and she’s not losing her title. She doesn’t care about the other stuff like the Privy council. She’d probably be glad to not have to see William. Camilla will be fine.
proof one that Charles is a cowardly weak man, exactly as William alleged: he puts up with William. The psychic baggage these people carry is alarmingly shallow. They’re having debates about how “modern” a monarchy is. A monarchy is not modern at all, if you wanted to be modern, you would run down the curtain and say, well done. Or not. The only one with a proper job is the actual head of state, the rest of the family are plus ones ….the entourage. But if you’re going to have a monarchy, bring on the ermine. Otherwise, what’s the point?? All these hairsplitting bickering sessions just sound like everyone is fishing for a pretext to hold a grudge. Harry was always reputed to be the one person in the family who would face things head-on, tackle the issue at hand, call an audible, and move on. This feud between Charles and William looks like self-indulgence by both of them.
Maybe Diana did bring down the monarchy after all. With her life, she inspired Harry to find purpose and meaning by learning to see beyond the palace walls and his own grief. And when she died, William fractured as a person and lost all emotional ballast when he was sent out among the grieving multitudes–grieving over a woman they didn’t know while her first born had to hide his own grief–as the reason his mother was dead in the first place.
I think the part that jumped out to me was William’s disdain for the prioritizing of duty over an individual mental health and well-being. When did he start to feel that way because he was against Harry’s decision to do this and leaked Harry’s proposal to Dan Wootton to try to stop him from leaving. It’s obvious that Waleses are not getting on with Charles and Camilla and it’s clear that William’s life is ruled by his jealousy of Harry.
As both W & K have “military commands”, they should have been at any events honoring veterans. This is far different than ribbon cutting ceremonies and football games.
Unfortunately this insider briefing on Will is more confirmation of rocky times ahead with manchild butting heads with KC. Will is weak, whiny, stupid, stubborn and exhausting. No wonder people have swerved dealing with him and humoured him murmuring, “you know best.” All this angst between dad and son, king and heir so familiar from Shakespeare’s history plays. The modernisation moonshine won’t last when he is actually king and exposed for the lightweight he truly is. He’s spent years bitching and briefing against dad and brother instead of preparing himself for Kingship. Slapping a crown on his head at an expensive ceremony isn’t going to make him king just as ranting this way isn’t establishing him as a convincing leader in waiting. Instead of gearing up, he’s been powering down and yet still shouting about how he is going to put stick about when he is King?
Charles is Dismayed is rather a mild reaction. Charles should be roaring mad/angry that William, his heir to the British throne , choose to holiday rather than honour the veterans.
From this article are we to understand that KC ordered Will to attend the Pope’s funeral but felt unable to risk alienating him by also insisting that he attend VJ Day? Has KC lost control of the heir? How can Will claim to be a loyal soldier who obeys the head of the Armed Forces if he choose not to attend VJ Day? I lost all hope for Will then. How can he NOT be aware of what he owes to all those who fought to ensure an Allied victory in WW2. Six years of suffering and hardship meted on invaded and occupied territories, people dying in concentration camps, Japanese cruelty to prisoners, women and children etc., All he was asked was to take one day out of a lavish two months holiday to commemorate and he couldn’t see the importance of such an act of remembrance?
I saw an archived version of this DB article and there was a detail not included. Which was about the inner workings of the royal courts. It seemed to be saying that some of the men in grey do not want to get on William’s bad side and are possibly supporting him rather than Charles. Bc they will want to be kept on by William when the regime changes and not lose their jobs. So they want William to see them as helping his cause rather than his dad’s. At least that’s what William’s friend is leaking to Sykes. Basically saying that Charles is weak bc his people are not wanting to be seen as going against William and are thus not supporting his objectives as well as they could. Is that actually true? Idk? Is that what William thinks is happening? Yes. Is that what William is trying to make happen? Yes. How successful William is in that… idk. Def shades of how Andrew and Charles took down Geist and instilled Edward Young at the end of the Queen’s reign. Except who is working with William on this? Knauf?
Skipping the pope’s funeral would’ve been a governmental headache. But Charles was probably fine with William hanging himself by skipping VJ Day celebrations to vacation.
Why is Charles so surprised? He has been enabling Will’s laziness for many years. The Queen also coddled William by letting him have that fake air ambulance work just at the point when Will was supposed to step up to full time work. Charles was never proactive in getting William to work, the lazy heir idled away his twenties clubbing and vacationing and partying. Keen’s laziness was very apparent for many years. Whatever the Queen told William in those “lessons” seemed not to be comprehended by him. And Charles must have noticed the temper tantrums of William or why the media called him Won’t. If William does not like the “trappings” of royal ceremony, then how come his wife took such pains to construct a “tiara” after instructions were for her to wear a wreath. That makes no sense.
Nothing shows how weak a man Charles is when he can not demand that the Prince of Wales attend VJ Day. My husband and I are not authoritarian parent, but we aren’t representing a country and thousands of years history either. Charles should have told Billy Idle to get his rear in gear and honor those men.
Maybe Charles did order William to attend VJ Day. And William, from wherever he was vacationing, said “make me”. What was Charles supposed to do? Send some soldiers of his honour guard to pick up WillNot, kicking and screaming, and plop him on a chair next to Charles? If William refuses to do something, how on earth can he be forced to? He has his own money from the Duchy. With this Charles lost his only leverage, behave or I cut your allowance. Now William can say behave, or I cancel your lease of Highgrove. They are at an impasse, and William takes advantage of it.
Of course Charles and William rarely speak or meet informally. And when he was in the UK, Harry too. This is Charles’s fault! He’s a workaholic who didn’t prioritize his children even after the death of their mother. He’s the one who won’t use email or cell phones, so he’s not reachable without going through aides (with their own agendas) for appointments to speak. That’s not normal!
The writing was in the wall when William and Kate chose Ammer over a house Charles offered near Highgrove. That should have been a sign he needed to make more of an effort. And that he needed to do more to see his grandchildren. The Middletons, like most grandparents, certainly made the time.
He’s made his bed when it comes to both of his sons and parental neglect is one of the biggest parts of his legacy.
Is Sykes no longer writing for the Daily Beast? What does William do all day?
William’s tiny little children need him to wait at home all day, with Kate at his side, until it’s time for the school pickup. It’s immaterial whether he does anything or nothing; it’s simply his presence at home that’s paramount to raising these special children. Everyone knows this.
🤣🤣🤣 yeah baby, don’t come between Will and his royal duty to the school run that starts again tomorrow!!!
Somebody please explain to me what Will’s approach is. It looks like it’s chillin’ on vacay or in nature, talking sh-t about H&M, or his dad to whoever will listen. Fine. Don’t do it Charles’ way if you think it’s so flawed, but ffs do something that matters! He is the Prince of Wales, as I understand it, that comes with power and instead of using it for good, he uses it as a weapon in his petty, imaginary competition with his brother. Grow up! He’s too old to be finding his feet for a role he was born into, and he’s too old to stand 10 toes down on some sibling rivalry bullsh=t.
Exactly @JJ this UK tax payer would like more details of what modernization of monarchy looks like? No problem if he gives up both SG and duchy income and opts just to accept a zero hours contract and therefore just gets hourly pay per gig and vouchers for the local foodbank. Republic want just to pay kingy a salary and no one else which sounds good to me.
@Jais comment up thread about men in suits siding with Will over KC as power ebbs from an aged and ill king to his heir. Will clearly believes he has the upper hand here because courtiers need his favour to continue their careers. Maybe Jason is going to be his Number One on every sense and senior courtiers are already fearful of being pushed out when KW and Jason rule? I wonder if they aren’t already doing a report for FK on current duties that can be dropped so Will can justify his minimalist approach? Just stop the court circular so people don’t record activities of RF which be one such move. Yearly totals are embarrassing proof of his consistent laziness so just banish reportage -simples! BM continue to bash M &H 24/7 and just glorify W & K . Propaganda over truth has gone on for years. Does it matter if he just does 10 events a year if BM props him up and cheers him to the rafters? Two years ago someone from RR said Will ‘s star quality was worth 100 events by lesser royals? Maybe BM like men in suits support the status quo and want to preserve monarchy at all costs? Bottom line has to be is a monarch important or not? Will the already unpopular government just work around KW rather than rock the boat? Is Will laziness a real problem, a crisis for the monarchy or just baked in and with the connivance of press and government ignored?
” But he thinks a Harry meeting is a terrible, terrible idea.” I think it is a terrible idea if the King doesn’t link up with his younger son before he dies. As for WanKs treatment of Meghan, they need to apologise to her. I remember reading that Kate had sent Meghan flowers to apologise.
William does not respect the king otherwise he would be at the Veterans ceremony. He does not respect the right of Charles to make his own decisions or he wouldn’t be rage briefing about meeting Harry.
Charles is not being forgiving and magnanimous to Andrew. He is being blackmailed and keeping a lid on scandal.
Maybe Charles is intimidated or afraid of William but where has capitulation gotten him so far. Why doesn’t Charles do what he wants and to hell with William. If he wants to save his legacy he should travel to California. Not Camilla, just Charles. Then show up at the IG.