King Charles reportedly isn’t offering up any advice to Princess Kate about her role as future Queen – and there is a heartbreaking reason why he is said to be holding back
King Charles spent most of his life in training for his current role as monarch – as the person who held the title Prince of Wales for the longest time in British history.
Decades as heir-in-waiting gave Charles a lot of time to develop his passion projects, and think about what kind of King he wanted to be when the time came.
Now Charles finally has the top job – taking the throne in 2022 upon the death of his mother the late Queen Elizabeth – it has been reported that he has been a little hesitant to coach Princess Kate, his “beloved” daughter-in-law, on her future role as Queen Consort, and the reason why is pretty heartbreaking.
The Sun reports that the King has yet to sit Kate down and help prepare her for her future role, and neither has Queen Camilla who currently holds the position of consort, supporting the monarch in both his personal and public life, and representing the crown officially.
Royal expert Christopher Anderson explained that this doesn’t mean that Charles and Kate don’t have a great relationship and that the shared health challenges they have been through over the last year has only seen them become closer, with their struggles meaning the pair have “strengthened their bond”.
However, “The King is not about to be giving Kate advice about being a future queen,” the expert explained, and the reason why is pretty moving.
“That would simply give oxygen to the notion that he might not be around much longer, and Charles III intends to stay put on the throne for years to come,” Anderson concluded.
Determined to make his mark during his reign after over 70 years of waiting for the job, if the expert is correct then it seems the King is likely to stay focussed on the present, rather than looking forward to the ascension of his son Prince William.
However, William does seem to be considering the approach of his own reign, as the first in line to the throne. Speaking in November whilst in South Africa for the Earthshot Prize, the Prince of Wales said he was keen to do away with some of the long-standing formality associated with the Royal Family.
After being asked if he approaches his royal engagements in a different way, William replied: “I can only describe what I’m trying to do and that’s trying to do it differently and I’m trying to do it for my generation.
“I’m doing it with maybe a smaller r in the royal, if you like, that’s maybe a better way of saying it.”
Prince William also said that he wants to remain focused on “impact philanthropy, collaboration, convening and helping people,” adding: “I’m also going to throw empathy in there as well, because I really care about what I do. It helps impact people’s lives … and I think we could do with some more empathetic leadership around the world.”