Prince William was ‘given some normalcy’ before taking on a constitutional role
EXCLUSIVE: Prince William's upbringing was much different than his father's for one key reason, a royal expert has explained.
Prince William pilots air ambulance to the Royal London Hospital
Prince William is now heir to the throne, but he had some time to ease into this position, unlike his father, who was the heir in waiting as a small child.
William stepped into this role at the age of 40, when Queen Elizabeth II passed away in 2022, making Prince Charles the king and William first in line to the throne.
Prior to this shift, William was granted some normalcy, pursuing a military career, working as pilot and having quality time with his family.
Marlene Koenig, royal historian and author of Royal Musings, told Daily Express US: “He is now heir to the throne and has a constitutional role.
“He’s moved from having that opportunity with his wife, have family time, something he and Catherine always wanted, and, of course, George knows what his future will be, but what I think William has done, is redefine royal duties.
“His father was heir to the throne as a small child, but William was given the ability, for example when they lived in Wales, when he was working as a rescue pilot, being able to do other things than royal engagements, to have a sense of normalcy.”
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William took some time off to be with his wife, Princess Kate, who is undergoing cancer treatment and then the entire Wales family headed to Sandringham for a two-week Easter break, matching up with the children’s time off from school.
We spoke to Ms Koening about William’s return to work with her saying: “Prince William is doing is what needs to do as heir, he’s upped his engagements a bit.”
The Prince of Wales returned to his public-facing duties, but now the royals are at bit of a standstill because of the General Election.
“Now, he has far less to do because of Purdah (pre-election period).”
“He’s still doing things, a lot of stuff we never see. We’re not in on the meetings and other things.”
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Now that William is in a constitutional role, he is handling things differently than those before him, says the royal historian, focusing on issues “that are important to the community as a whole versus going out and greeting people in towns.”
According to Ms Koenig, Willian and Kate are pulling back on what she calls “bread and butter engagements,” like opening hospitals and schools, and instead, focusing on bigger picture issues like homelessness and early education.
William has kicked off an initiative to build homes, funded by the Duchy of Cornwall. And Princess Kate’s focus is on early education, creating a program called Shaping Us in 2023, and is still contributing to the campaign from home, while on medical leave.
