How many times will royal reporters and royal biographers talk around the fact that King Charles’ relationship with his heir is strained, if not completely dysfunctional? What’s even crazier is when they admit that Prince William is basically upset that Charles is NOT near death, that his cancer treatments have been working and he’s doing a lot better. But even before Charles’ 2024 cancer diagnosis, Charles and William didn’t get along whatsoever. I would argue that they’re too similar in temperament, just as I would argue that Charles absolutely got the heir he deserves.
It’s not just Prince Harry who has a fractious relationship with his family — King Charles and Prince William don’t have a particularly warm relationship either, sources tell Page Six.
“The problem with William is that he thinks he knows best,” royal biographer Hugo Vickers told Page Six.
“There have been differences of opinion and a few problems a couple of years back,” added royal writer Robert Jobson. “William has to rise above it all if he’s going to be king, and both he and Charles know they have to work together. There’s a lot of decisions that Charles will make that will affect William.”
Despite what has been called “eternal battles,” sources say the king, 77, and his heir, 44, are perfectly civil to each other as William prepares for the future.
“They meet regularly and they converse, there is no major problem,” Jobson said.
In the new biography, “William and Catherine: The Monarchy’s New Era: The Inside Story,” royal expert Russell Myers details how William and Charles’s relationship has evolved.
“Charles and William had been united throughout the Sussexes’ departure [from the UK and the royal family] and the scandal involving Prince Andrew and his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, which has brought them ever closer together in recent years,” Myers writes.
Meanwhile, a source told Myers, “While [The King] loves both his sons equally, his relationship with the Prince of Wales is something that has strengthened over the period of difficulty experienced by the family as external battles have occurred.”
As heir to the throne, William is on a “higher plane,” Jobson added.
In the wake of Harry’s trip to the UK earlier this month, when he finally brought his children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, to see the king for the first time in four years, Jobson told Page Six, “William understands he and his brother have different agendas and they have a different relationship with Charles.”
And while Charles may have been willing to see Prince Harry recently — even after his son has raged about royal life in his memoir “Spare” and the Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan” — sources predict the brothers will remain estranged.
“I’m sure [William] is not in any way going to reconcile with Harry, he’s made his position pretty clear…they have different paths,” Jobson said.
As for William’s alleged view that he knows best, Vickers said, it could be the very thing that turns him into a strong monarch: “We should give him a chance. He might make a super king.”
It’s taken these people the better part of a year to come up with “William understands he and his brother have different agendas and they have a different relationship with Charles.” O RLY? Because after Harry and Charles met last September, William had something akin to a nervous breakdown because daddy was supposed to hate Harry too!! William-loyalists even admit that the Harry situation is a proxy war for the larger fissures within Charles and William’s relationship. Here’s the thing though – I don’t even believe that Charles gives a crap about William’s rage-tantrums anymore. Charles has his own agenda, and he’s manipulating both of his sons for his own purposes.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
-
- Members of the British royal family during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Featuring: (Left to right) The Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, the Princess of Wales, the Prince of Wales, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Alexandra and the Duchess of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Where: London, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- 17/09/2025. Windsor , United Kingdom. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump with King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton , the Prince and Princess of Wales, at Windsor Castle for the start of their State Visit to the United Kingdom.,Image: 1038113527, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Licenced to i-Images Picture Agency. All Rights Reserved. UK copyright law applies to all print & online publications. i-Images space rates apply to all images. Magazines contact agency for fees before use. Images Single use only then repro fees apply. Info@i-images.co Tel: 07860204379, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Stephen Lock / i-Images/Avalon
-
- WINDSOR, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 03: King Charles III (second right) and Queen Camilla (R) with the President of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender with Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince Of Wales (far left) as they watch a military procession during the ceremonial welcome for the state visit to the UK at Windsor Castle on December 03, 2025 in Windsor, England. The President of the Federal Republic of Germany, accompanied by Ms. Elke Büdenbender, are paying a State Visit to the United Kingdom as the guests of Their Majesties The King and Queen. The visit is the first from Germany in 27 years and will be marked with ceremonial visits, an address to the UK parliament and a banquet.,Image: 1056240126, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Carl Court/Avalon
-
- 18/03/2026. Windsor, UK. The Prince and Princess of Wales greet The President and First Lady, on behalf of The King, at the Fairmont Hotel Windsor. Their Royal Highnesses travelled with The President and First Lady to Datchet Road, Windsor, where The President and First Lady received a Ceremonial Welcome.,Image: 1084135391, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image is free for use but may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever. All rights reserved., Model Release: no, Credit line: Pete Maclaine/Avalon
-
- King Charles III (right) and the Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland during the Thistle Service at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, as part of the King’s visit to Scotland for Holyrood Week. Picture date: Wednesday July 1, 2026.,Image: 1113760120, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no , Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon
-
- (Left to right) The Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland, King Charles III, Queen Camilla and the Duke of Edinburgh during the Thistle Service at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, as part of the King’s visit to Scotland for Holyrood Week. Picture date: Wednesday July 1, 2026.,Image: 1113760157, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no , Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon
-
- The Prince of Wales and King Charles III arriving for the Countdown to Cop30 event, hosted jointly by the Natural History Museum and UK Government and held at the London Museum, which brings together changemakers tackling climate change and nature loss, ahead of the Cop30 Summit in Belem, Brazil, in November Featuring: William, Prince of Wales, King Charles III Where: London, United Kingdom When: 09 Oct 2025 Credit: Aaron Chown/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Royal family on the balcony during Trooping the Colour 2026 ceremony in celebration of King Charles III’s official birthday Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William of Wales, Catherine Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince Edward Duke of Edinburgh, Sophie Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Anne Princess Royal, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Princee Edward Duke of Kent, Prince Richard Duke of Gloucester, Brigitte Duchess of Gloucester Where: London, United Kingdom When: 13 Jun 2026 Credit: Mischa Schoemaker/Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
-
- The Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland, during the Thistle Service at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, as part of the King’s visit to Scotland for Holyrood Week. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: Edinburgh, United Kingdom When: 01 Jul 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
I love that plaintive little bleat at the end. “He might make a super king.” Like, “who knows, he might surprise us all.”
@Eurydice I know what a limp and doubtful sentence!! Marina Hyde actually wrote last year that Will is a mediocre underachiever but she’s not RR or royal biographer. I love that people are beginning to openly acknowledge that Will is a crappy heir and unable to snap out of it when actual king.
LOL, no.
“I’m sure [William] is not in any way going to reconcile with Harry, he’s made his position pretty clear…they have different paths,” Jobson said” Actually I’m pretty sure Harry said that explicitly in an interview in 2021. The way they consistently repurpose what Harry and Meghan have said to make it seem like it’s coming from the BRF is something to behold.
William being bothered by the fact that Harry has just blanked him, and Kate being bothered by Meghan’s ease in public are too narrative threads that you know are true, because of how much they have focused on how much they don’t care consistently in the last 6 years.
“They meet regularly and converse.” Is what you say about a dueling interim CEO and CO, not a father and son.
Plus the fact that they are perfectly civil towards each other. Yikes.
In other words charles backed scooter in his attitude towards harry and driving him out
The problem with Will is: how about he’s an absolute nightmare as Prince of Wales: doing less, less , stubborn, refusing to listen and take advice, wrong headed and quarrelling from dad downwards, hard to get hold of and impossible to get to say yes to anything he doesn’t want to do. Copies anything Harry does but badly. Drinking more and more and surrounded by creeps like Jason Knauf. Endless rages about the Sussexes and rage briefing to all and sundry without any discrimination. Very stupid and won’t make any effort to improve by reading his briefing notes before visits. Poor work partnership with wife as he doesn’t want to be overshadowed by anyone let alone someone who he snobbishly believes owes everything to his name and title. Not a natural speaker or good mixer with people from different backgrounds. Stiff, awkward and uncomfortable performing in public. No appreciation of culture, tradition or religion. Dressing badly and personal hygiene is neglected and the relentless off-putting barrage of jokes which land badly. Big ego actually thinks he a sexy, hot, good looking genius who can get anyone he wants by clicking his fingers!
Lady Digby, that was an excellent summation of William and his character flaws. Bravo! 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
I chuckled at this sentence — “William understands he and his brother have different agendas and they have a different relationship with Charles.”
It seems like Willie’s only agenda is doing as little as he possibly can. That man is too lazy to have an agenda. Does waiting for his dad to die count?
It really says something not very good about Charles that he has such strained relationships with both his sons.
He puts camilla first. Even though he and diana divorced he and the queen .should have treated diana better. The boys needed both parents around
Unfortunately, William’s ego is far greater than his intelligence.
The British Royal Family is in big trouble. Just look at that first picture of the whole gang. Scooter and Buttons are the youngest, so you would think that they are the most involved and energetic. But no. They are both lazy, disinterested, and not very smart. Who will handle all the ribbon cuttings etc.? Will Bea and Eugenie be brought back into the fold? The Wales children are many years away from helping out. It would be interesting if some journalist added up how many appearances W&K make this year and divide that into the amount of cash they are paid annually. I imagine their “appearance fee” is astronomical.
And the Windsors are pretty chilly towards the other European royals but those houses have younger monarchs in the wings. The BRF are looking careworn and isolated in their own shrinking pool of local interest.
Although Carole may try matchmaking the Wales kids with other European royalty
It will be interesting to see if W allows his aunt and uncle to work once he’s king. Everyone in the RF has to do less than him so I guess everyone will have to pick up some hobbies while they wait for the Wails’ to make an appearance. Harry getting kicked out was the best thing that could have happened to him. He was smart enough to demand half in, half out.
“Might” being the operative word….
What a great system to have someone never told they are wrong and in line to have power for the rest of his life.
@Nic919 real drawback of monarchy. We have had 7 different PMs in 10 years since Brexit which is unusual for the UK. However the point is the PM can be removed if they are really tanking by their own party. The electorate has the ultimate power to vote parties in or out as a result of General Elections which have to be held every 5 years. For whatever reason, Will has never course corrected, matured, increased in knowledge and experience, made any sustained effort at work. Unfortunately he can’t be sacked or resign unless he abdicates. UK and other countries are stuck with him for the next 40 years and it is very dubious that he’ll improve and be competent. Hey ho!