How Prince William’s role in the British royal family is changing

When Prince William presented the men’s FA Cup trophy at Wembley Stadium on May 25, he must have wondered how his life could change so quickly – compared to the same ceremony last year.

A year ago, with the coronation of King Charles III, he became the Prince of Wales and had played a central role in the ceremony, not just supporting his father, the king. The pair had been seen playing with each other during rehearsals in a very friendly, light and happy atmosphere.

But after surpassing the British winter of 2024, immense and unexpected pressures occurred.

After all, in the central quartet of the monarchy – King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Katherine – the King and Princess of Wales have both been diagnosed with cancer.

“There can’t be many people who have had their father and wife diagnosed with cancer in such a short space of time,” says royal commentator Richard Palmer. “He must feel alone sometimes.”

The situation caused Prince William to focus much of his attention on caring for his wife and his young family. It’s understandable that many of his other commitments have been put aside.

The need to avoid political matters, due to the proximity of the British general elections, also led the prince to further limit his plans, as occurred in a visit that would be dedicated to addressing the issue of homelessness.

The king has now returned to work with renewed energy. But it is inevitable that certain adjustments will still be necessary for the good of his health.

This means that Prince William will be even more clearly called upon to share the burdens and play his role as heir to the throne.

“He must feel that the weight of the world is in his hands. The future of the monarchy rests on his shoulders,” said royal writer Pauline Maclaran.

The ocean of distance that separates Prince William from his brother, Prince Harry, also increases the difficulties.

And there is still a toxic cloud of press gossip and absurd speculation surrounding the Princess of Wales’ illness as she continues her cancer treatment.

The feeling must have been that the world of royalty, accustomed to traveling with the tranquility of a carriage, began to spin at the pace of a race at frightening speed.

What will Prince William’s goals be now that he is in the eye of the storm? If you tune out all the background noise surrounding the royal family, what does he want to do with his role?

Sources close to the prince indicate that the key word is “impact”. Instead of cutting ribbons, taking photos and performing easy tasks, he wants to offer projects that make a difference in a tangible and measurable way.

“Your question is, ‘How can I use my platform for good, to create positive change?'” according to a royal source. “He has big ambitions about what he can offer.”

In practice, this means carrying out its projects to reduce homelessness, promote mental health issues and support environmental initiatives – such as its Earthshot project, an award given to authors of innovative ideas about the environment.

Prince William has described his role as one of “social leadership” and his visits have been called “community impact days.”

This is a millennial vision of the monarchy: taking off the tie and actively promoting a social agenda, with language that wouldn’t be out of place in any charity campaign.

A microcosm of his intentions was observed last month. The prince, now responsible for the Duchy of Cornwall, helped prepare the ground for a new health center on the Scilly Isles in southwest England.

William worked with the local city council to initiate the St. Mary Community Hospital project.

“He rolled up his sleeves and played a key role in ensuring that work began as soon as possible,” according to a royal source. The impact is that “people will not need to leave the archipelago in search of medical assistance.”

There is also a new housing project in Nansledan, near Newquay, also in Cornwall, to combat homelessness.

It’s not very ostentatious. Campaigners against the monarchy have previously described the royal family as “state-funded reality TV shows”. But the types of projects supported by Prince William are often much less glamorous and attract less press attention.

Perhaps this fits into another characteristic of your personality. He doesn’t always like to take the easy way out.

It’s like your favorite football team, Aston Villa. People claim he deliberately made the decision not to root for the usual, boringly predictable winners.

William prefers the “thrilling rollercoaster moments” offered by teams that sometimes go up and sometimes go down.

It is important to remember that his father went further in this football philosophy. He supports Burnley, who were relegated in the recently ended season.

But Prince William’s vision also risks criticism. The anti-monarchist group, called Republic, called the prince’s housing projects “crass and hypocritical… considering the excess wealth we have offered him.”

There is also the accusation that any ambitions to solve housing problems will always depend, in the end, on political interventions that are outside their remit.

“This is not easy and it is not entirely clear how he will achieve it,” according to Richard Palmer. “But many people believe he should be applauded for trying.”

Another point of constant friction is the tension between “team” William and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who almost appear to be an opposing team based in California.

While William dug in Cornwall, Harry and Meghan were welcomed like rock stars in Nigeria.

Prince William is faced with the challenge of making serious ideas happen, while at the same time being trapped in what seems like an unlikely script for a TV soap opera. There is also another generational pressure on Prince William, which will likely only increase.

A significant part of the monarchy’s popularity with the public now depends on the Prince and Princess of Wales. They are like those politicians who are more popular than their party.

Recently, a revealing survey by the YouGov institute concluded that Prince William and Katherine hold approval ratings of more than 70%, while support for the monarchy as an institution stood at 56%.

Among younger people, support for the monarchy is just 34% – and the only age group in which the majority of respondents view the monarchy positively is among people over 50 years of age.

The importance of Prince William and his wife’s popularity is that it covers all age groups and different regions of the country, at a time when a significant minority is showing skepticism towards the monarchy.

“The monarchy needs to be relevant and he wants to modernize it,” says Maclaran. And, as heir to the throne, William will also need to take a long-term look at his own reign.

“In the coming years, we will see him thinking about what kind of monarch he wants to be and what kind of monarch the country will need in the middle of the 21st century,” says historian Anthony Seldon.

“He has been setting his own agenda, much of it overlapping with his father’s interests and passions,” Seldon added.

But this is a time of many unknowns for Prince William. He has a huge public platform, but needs to find his own voice

This text was originally published here.