For people of a certain age, talking about Prince and Princess of Wales brings to mind images of Diana and Charles at the height of the former’s influence. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the so-called people’s princess traveled the world on her royal missions and solidified her image as a fashion icon, accompanied by her then-husband, who never enjoyed the same glow and adoration.
Fast forward 30 years in history, and Charles is now King of England, the third of his name, and the Prince of Wales is now his son William. In addition to the new title, William became the first in line to the throne after the death of his grandmother Elizabeth on the 8th.
The new Prince of Wales now faces the challenge of solidifying an identity that, until now, has suffered the weight of being constantly drawn under the rule of the previous occupants of the title. His father held the title for 64 years, while his mother, although she only held it for 16, changed its rank and meaning, making it world-renowned and helping to bring the royal family into the era of modern celebrity.
William was born in 1982, the second year of his parents’ marriage; his brother Harry came two years later. Although the details of his relationship with his mother are scarce, everything indicates that he was close and loving. The prince has spoken on a few occasions recently about Diana, remembering moments like hugs and songs she sang to her children.
The fact is that Diana was often photographed in more informal and intimate moments with the princes, carrying them on her lap, skiing together and playing – a contrast to the previous generation, in which, at least publicly, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip they seemed to have a more distant and formal relationship with their four children, Charles, Andrew, Anne and Edward.
Less is known about William’s relationship with his father, but one can imagine that it was rocked by his divorce from Diana, finalized in 1996; before that, in 1993, explosive recordings of conversations between Charles and now Queen consort Camilla Parker-Bowles surfaced, confirming rumors of adultery. More recently, however, images of the two together suggest they are on good terms, and at times show Charles interacting tenderly with grandchildren George, 9, Charlotte, 7, and Louis, 4.
Diana’s death came when William was 15, and the prince was not spared having his grief at the loss of his mother open in public. Pictures of William and his brother Harry, then 12, with their heads down in front of their mother’s coffin went around the world. In 2017, William told a documentary about the tragedy: “There’s nothing like it in the world. It’s like an earthquake has hit your house, your life, everything. Your mind is completely shattered. It took me a while to realize the magnitude of it all. .”
William grew up in Kensington Palace and Highgrove House. He attended private schools, including the prestigious Eton College, and earned a degree in geography from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He served for seven and a half years in the Armed Forces, where he served as a pilot in the Royal Air Force and Navy, and later worked as a civilian air ambulance pilot. In 2017, he quit his job to devote himself full-time to activities as a member of the royal family.
William has enjoyed a few years of greater media exposure since marrying Kate Middleton in 2011, in the first major royal wedding in decades, which generated great interest worldwide. The complaints about Kate being a commoner didn’t last long; despite tabloids’ attempts to criticize her for being “middle class” or to compare her to Diana, the couple now have high approval ratings in the UK (68% for Kate and 66% for William, according to YouGov) and he is received with admiration and affection wherever he goes, although not with the same devotion that was directed towards Diana.
Her charitable work for children and mental health – in which she shared her personal experiences on the subject in a way not seen before in the history of the royal family – is praised. He also supports the Invictus Games, a sports competition created by his brother Harry for wounded and rehabilitated servicemen and ex-servicemen.
The birth of each of their children also became a world event and increased the family’s charisma. The three kids are masters at making faces and mouths at official events. Jealous of the paparazzi’s role in his mother’s death, William has faced them staunchly since he started dating Kate.
He recently got into a fight with photographers who were trying to capture images while he was riding his bike with the kids. In 2017, the royal couple won a lawsuit against a French tabloid that published photos of Kate topless. Today, paparazzi are often less aggressive in their attempts to obtain photos of the royal family — who, in turn, provide more images of their private life for publication, as Kate is wont to do with photos she takes of her own children.
Another blow to William’s life came with the announcement that being a brother would step back from his royal duties in early 2020, and Harry’s interview with wife, Meghan Markle, with talk show host Oprah Winfrey last year. The couple reported, among other things, racist comments within the royal family about their children and that Charles and William were “stuck” in the royal family.
William was obviously unable to make any comment to refute or confirm his brother’s lines, which ended up fueling the narrative in the tabloids about the distance between the two. Of course, the crowd doesn’t know if they speak digitally, but with Harry living in California and William in the UK, Grandmother Elizabeth’s funeral was the first time they’d seen each other in over two years.
While time has faded the stain of the Charles and Camilla scandal, the current king is far from having the undisputed past of the current Prince of Wales. Now bald, at 40, with the face of a father, William passed through his youth unscathed without scandal and married a princess who seems to take her royal duties as seriously as he does, which brings them closer to her grandmother Elizabeth’s reputation for service and dignity. more than her father’s turbulent legacy. On the other hand, Charles’ mistakes humanize him and make him a person of flesh and blood, while William follows the late Queen’s tradition of being indecipherable.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
