Prince William isn’t ‘radical’ like King Charles, he’s an incrementalist

When King Charles was diagnosed with cancer in 2024, you could see, in real time, the panic building across royal media. What was left unsaid, for the most part, was the widespread knowledge that Prince William was and is nowhere near prepared to be king. I would argue that William has turned out to be the most inconsequential Prince of Wales, and that should be indicative of his plans for an inconsequential Scooter King reign. Sure, William has “plans” for his reign, but those plans are mostly about how he personally doesn’t want to work or show up anywhere. The man is committed to tweeting through his reign instead of actually showing up. Well, royal biographer Robert Hardman is trying to put a positive spin on all of this. You see, William’s not lazy as hell, he’s just an incrementalist who is terrified of making big changes!

Now that King Charles is on the throne, he’s modernized and streamlined the monarchy in his own way while staying true to the traditions at the heart of the Crown. Although Prince William has discussed his own plans for change, Robert Hardman says that the Prince of Wales is actually not nearly as “radical” as his father.

As King Charles settles into the role he spent a lifetime preparing for and Prince William begins outlining his own vision, the late Queen’s influence is emerging in different ways. “He is, I would say, as happy as I’ve ever seen him,” Hardman says of King Charles, who the biographer has been writing about for more than 30 years. After taking on the top job in his seventies, The King now approaches his role with “a genuine sort of purpose and an energy,” the author says. That sense of purpose, he suggests, reflects a King who has seen the role as both his solemn duty and a job he thoroughly enjoys.

“He’s never been shy of work,” the biographer says, adding The King is “quite happy staying up all night” at his desk and “being handed extra bundles of work.”

While Charles has been defined by decades of preparation, Prince William is approaching the job from a different angle. The Prince of Wales, who is a father to three children under 13, is “very much a family man,” Hardman says, and that priority shapes how he views his role and the future of the monarchy.

“He talks about change, but I think the sort of change he has in mind will be sort of internal. It might be sort of tonal,” Hardman says of William. The biographer suggests that any shift is more likely to focus on making the monarchy “a little bit less ceremonial” with “a little less dressing up,” versus fundamental reform.

“I don’t think he’s instinctively radical whereas his father, I think, was,” Hardman says. “I mean, you look at when Charles was William’s age now, he was constantly making speeches complaining about the state of architecture, education, heritage, pollution…he was a very outspoken heir to the throne.”

“William’s rather like The [late] Queen’s father, you know. He’s sort of dutiful, thoughtful, keen to do a good job, but not desperate to change the world.” Hardman notes that the late Queen also had a great deal of influence on Prince William. “She changed the institution a lot, but incrementally. You had a philosophy which she talked about once in one of her Christmas broadcasts, which is a phrase I heard her use quite a few times about small steps.”

[From Marie Claire]

First we had GB News referring to the Princess of Wales as “part of the furniture at Buckingham Palace over the years” and now a full-blown royal biographer is like “William’s laziness should be taken as incrementalism!” Eh – “you look at when Charles was William’s age now, he was constantly making speeches complaining about the state of architecture, education, heritage, pollution…he was a very outspoken heir to the throne.” Subtly pointing out how pitiful William looks compared to his father at the same age. It’s like I said before – say what you will about Charles (he’s a horrible man in many ways), but at least he has interests, passions and hobbies. At least he has an opinion, at least he’s always given a sh-t about a wide variety of subjects. William is too lazy to have passions beyond Aston Villa and luxury vacations.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red and Cover Images.