In recent months, one very diligent palace gopher has been spreading rumors about King Charles’s health, his proximity to Prince Andrew’s Epstein scandals and his inability to change the monarchy in the wake of a global scandal. In case you missed it, Prince William has been on the warpath (from his multiple vacations), trying to make a narrative about his father’s abdication happen. Do I think that King Charles would ever choose to abdicate? No. I do not. He will hold on to that crown with his last breath. But shhh, don’t tell William. He really thinks he can scream and cry and stage-manage his father’s abdication from his fifth forever home. From Rob Shuter’s Substack:

Royal whispers are growing louder that King Charles III will hand the throne to Prince William within the next year — with health cited as the formal and carefully managed explanation. There has been no public announcement, no constitutional motion, no palace confirmation. But multiple sources insist that conversations about succession timing are no longer hypothetical.

One senior courtier tells me: “The transition will look measured and dignified. Health provides the most unassailable explanation.”

The King, insiders say, is determined to control the narrative of his reign’s final chapter. After decades of preparation, he has no intention of appearing pressured or forced. The cautionary shadow remains Andrew and his disastrous association with Jeffrey Epstein, a scandal that dragged the monarchy into sustained damage control.

“Charles will not be seen as pushed,” a palace insider says. “He has waited a lifetime for this role. When he steps back, it will be entirely on his terms.”

Meanwhile, within royal circles, there is growing acknowledgment that William is already functioning as a monarch-in-waiting in everything but title. His steady public presence, diplomatic engagements, and firm approach to family dynamics have quietly reinforced that perception. A longtime aide puts it bluntly: “In many ways, he’s already king unofficially. The institution is preparing emotionally, even if the paperwork hasn’t caught up.”

The strategy, sources suggest, is not dramatic abdication. It is controlled evolution.

And as one former palace adviser concludes: “The monarchy survives because it adapts before it has to. If there’s a handover, it won’t feel like surrender. It will feel inevitable.”

[From Shuter’s Substack]

I understand the argument of “Charles could use his very real health problems as an excuse to abdicate.” I understand the argument of “of course they’re succession-planning, that’s just common sense.” What I don’t understand is the argument of “William is already functioning as a monarch-in-waiting in everything but title.” He is not. Throwing his dad under the bus every other day does not make him regent, it makes him immature and short-sighted. Pushing stories about Charles’s death and/or abdication doesn’t make William look more regal or powerful, it makes him look macabre and lazy. And William’s behavior is the reason why I don’t believe Charles would EVER abdicate. Charles has seen his bald-demon son up close for years, Charles fully knows that William is not up for being king. What’s even worse is that everyone in the royal media and royal ecosystem knows it too. Speaking of, this clip has been making the rounds this week. Presented without further comment.

The last time the monarchy underwent a revamp was over a century ago. In 1917 the royal family reinvented themselves as British family institution, rather than a German dynastic one. In order to save itself again, the monarchy will need to reform itself again.

Can William, the… pic.twitter.com/dJYWERQG3G

— Dr. David Starkey CBE (@DrDStarkeyCBE) March 2, 2026

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.