King

Yesterday, the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden claimed there was a dark, malevolent conspiracy afoot in the house of Windsor. That conspiracy? Prince Harry plans to visit the UK more often, which will obviously “undermine” Prince William and Kate, and King Charles is just letting it happen! That’s part of the conspiracy too, that Charles is displeased with his heir, and Charles doesn’t give a sh-t about William’s panic and rage about Harry and Meghan. Eden managed to draw out those conspiratorial observations into high crimes and misdemeanors. Well, Becky English said: wait a minute, there’s something THERE. English followed up Eden’s coverage with this piece, which sounds a lot like Prince William’s courtiers and handlers trying to placate him (while adjusting his meds). Some highlights:

The conspiracy!! If recent events are anything to go by, then something is starting to look more than a little suspect. From sources at the weekend, apparently close to the Sussexes, suggesting Prince Harry might be able to ‘help’ lighten the load of royal engagements, to claims by biographer Tina Brown that King Charles is ‘less irritated’ by his prodigal son than he is by Prince William over his work ethic, there has been a torrent of suggestions about tensions at the top. Indeed, a source close to both the King and the Prince of Wales told me starkly this week: ‘It’s evident there’s an attempt to manufacture division between them, when in reality, no such rift exists. In truth, their relationship is as strong as ever, they are aligned in their work, with many areas of shared interest, and united in their vision for the role of the Royal Family.’

Something calculated is happening: Sometimes a media whisper (that may or may not have a nugget of truth at the heart of it) is whipped up into a cacophony of speculation, particularly online. But there’s now more than a flicker of suspicion in royal circles that something more calculated could be at work. What or who may be behind the conjecture isn’t clear. But it is a worrying turn of events after I revealed earlier this year that Kensington Palace had discovered Russian bots were seeking to disseminate misinformation around the Princess of Wales’s prolonged absence from public life in the run-up to her cancer announcement last year.

William & Charles’s actual relationship: It’s important to acknowledge, in the interests of fairness, that William, 43, and his 76-year-old father have never had the easiest of relationships. No surprise given their complex family history, particularly the breakdown of Charles’s marriage to William’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. Harsh words have been exchanged in the past, angry rows permeating even the thickest castle walls, sometimes within earshot of staff. There have also been clashes of opinion on the professional side, such as the retention of ivory treasures in the Royal Collection (William wants to burn them, Charles believes they should be kept as historical artefacts) which not so long ago resulted in a ‘frank’ exchange.

Windsor men’s quick temper: But really, isn’t that what families can be like? And what bothers you in your 20s or 30s, doesn’t seem quite so important at 40. Particularly given the rollercoaster of the past few years for William, with his younger brother’s very public betrayal and his wife’s shock cancer diagnosis. Similarly the King, who like many Windsor men can have a quick temper, is facing his own health challenges. While he is managing his cancer diagnosis extremely well, I am told, it has, naturally, been hugely challenging at times. And with both age and illness can often come a reassessment of what matters most. While it’s not a phrase he would personally use, the King is more of a proponent of ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ nowadays, in his own way. ‘Do they [the King and William] sit down for dinner every night, or even see each other every week? No. But they never have,’ a source reminds me. ‘However they do speak regularly and they are in absolute lockstep about the future of the monarchy and the good it can do this country.’

Competitive tensions: Another source adds: ‘Like many father-son relationships, there are occasional personal and competitive tensions. Both are very driven individuals and have very similar interests such as the environment, conservation, the military and helping deprived communities. However, they are also going about supporting them in quite different ways. Does that sometimes bring them into competition with one another? Yes, to be fair, it does. But ultimately they have the same goal: to make life better for the people of this country.’

Why Charles & William rarely do events together: ‘The whole point of having a Prince of Wales with a separate household and funding from the monarch is that they have space and autonomy to try things in a different way,’ a source argues. ‘Sometimes they get things right, sometimes wrong. But even their failures make them a better king when they get there. Don’t forget His Majesty had more than his fair share of ups and downs as heir to the throne.’

Willy’s trip to Balmoral this week: Indeed, I can reveal that they will be both be up in Scotland this week – admittedly staying in different residences (Birkhall for the King and neighbouring Balmoral for William, as is their habit) but they plan to meet and will almost certainly attend church together this Sunday. ‘Scotland is a place they both love,’ my source says.

William’s tough time: And if the King privately feels his son could possibly take up some of the slack on those royal engagements, it’s not something that comes up in conversation. ‘If prioritising his family helps make him [William] a better king, it’s got to be a good investment,’ says one who knows them both. ‘The Prince of Wales has had a universally sh***y time of late… he lost his beloved grandmother, his brother, and has faced terrible heartache with his father and his wife. If this [way of doing things] makes him feel that much more happy and confident when the moment comes and he accedes him to the throne, then that’s something his father supports.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Something to keep in mind, just one week ago, the Mail also published A.N. Wilson’s “what’s eating William” takedown. And when Tina Brown’s Fresh Hell Substack dropped – in which she openly said that Charles is less annoyed with Harry than lazy-ass William – that gave ALL of the British media an opening to publicly discuss what had been common knowledge among royalists. This isn’t a conspiracy, it’s the media starting to acknowledge that all is not well with William in particular. This piece by English is almost entirely based on William’s narrative too, this is damage-control by his office, not Charles’s. This is William “forging” his father’s signature on pity-poor-Willy talking points. “He lost his beloved grandmother, his brother…” Harry is not dead, and it’s disgusting that the only way William can get through the f–king day is by pretending that his brother is dead or a “non-person” or whatever psychotic phrasing they use.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.