Prince William is prepping for his day on the throne.
The Prince of Wales’ attendance at Pope Francis‘ funeral in Rome on Saturday — where he represented his father King Charles III — proved William is ready and willing to be the next monarch. While it’s palace protocol for the child of a British monarch to attend a Pope’s funeral, it was clear to royal experts that William’s appearance was one step in the process of the 42-year-old being groomed to take over for his dad.
Related: How Princess Catherine Is Preparing To Be Queen!
Royal expert Hugo Vickers told Page Six on Tuesday:
“William did extremely well at [the reopening of] Notre Dame, leading the British contingent. And in Rome he joined [Donald] Trump and [Emmanuel] Macron and [Volodymyr] Zelensky, so he’s right up there with the big boys, as it were.”
This may have been a “natural” progression, but the insider, who is a friend of the royal family, is still really worried for the day William will be forced to take charge, noting:
“Is he ready? Is anyone ever ready? He’s got a lot on his plate. His wife is not perfectly well, as we know, and I feel very anxious for him — he has small children and all the things he has to do as the Prince of Wales.”
There is one thing working to William’s benefit, though. As unfortunate as Charles’ ongoing cancer battle is, it gives his eldest son plenty of time to prep for and process the upcoming change. Hugh acknowledged:
“It’s always the problem — their heir never knows when they are going to become King, but obviously as William’s father is unwell it focuses on that. But [William is] as prepared as he will be. It looks as though he can cope — which is good because he’ll need to when the time comes.”
And thankfully, Princess Catherine is doing much better these days after concluding her cancer treatment. That helps!
It also sounds like he’s REALLY excited to have full control — and to use it to hit back at his brother Prince Harry and sister-in-law Meghan Markle while strongly differentiating himself from his father’s way of ruling. The author pointed out:
“It’s an interesting thing. When the time comes, he will almost become a different person. As Charles has acquired a kind of new gravitas as King. Every generation does things differently. People are telling me that William will do things in one way or another, but he probably doesn’t know himself. Although I’m sure he’s got all sorts of ideas about how he may wish to run things.”
Taking away the Sussexes’ royal titles is reportedly high on that list, at least right now…
In the meantime, he’s busy fulfilling his royal work as Prince of Wales and helping out the ill patriarch when necessary, Hugo remarked:
“I get annoyed when William is accused of not doing enough. […] I have enormous sympathy for him. He said that last year was the worst of his life and when you think about it, that’s a hell of a statement thinking back got the year when he lost his mother.”
While His Majesty was recently hospitalized amid his treatment, palace sources told the outlet he is believed to be doing alright these days. The author noted:
“Charles looked fantastically well on Easter Day, and he’s doing his best.”
So, there’s no need to panic about a change on the throne just yet. But when the time comes, William will be ready. He’s prepared his whole life for this promotion, after all!
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