With Prince William and Kate Middleton’s new role comes a lot of new responsibilities. After being named the Prince and Princess of Wales by King Charles following the death of the Queen, the couple are expected to take down a lot more responsibilities.
The future king, William is said to understand the pivotal role he holds in the royal family – especially at a time when his father is keen to slim it down to a few figures. On top of that, ongoing discussions about the role Prince Harry and the Duke of York now hold, as non-working royals, continues to take up consideration.
Now after the funeral, the pair will soon start publicly engaging in their new role, after the royal period of mourning is finished. The couple are said to be prepared. One source close to William said his grandmother had a huge influence on the future king: “The duke was incredibly close to his grandmother, he looked up to her like no one else. And that service and duty that she epitomised is something that will very much be a characteristic of his future role,’ the aide told the Mail. “He learned from the best.”
New millions
Prince William has has inherited the Duchy of Cornwall estate valued at more than £1.2billion, which is made up of landholdings and investments.
The estate belonged to King Charles III until his ascension, and it automatically passes onto the monarch’s eldest son.
Last year, King Charles, then a prince, received a staggering £22.2million income from the Duchy of Cornwall, which he voluntarily paid taxes on.
Now Prince William will find himself receiving millions of pounds each year from the Duchy of Cornwall, and will have control of its massive portfolio of assets. He is expected to follow in his father’s footsteps – with his dad praised for setting up hardship funds and not charging excessive amounts for rent.
Leave behind old passions
William has spent a lot of time over the last few years running his charitable organisation, the Royal Foundation, and his passion-project the Earthshot Prize.
This initiative is the most prestigious environment prize in history, launched in October 2020 by Prince William and The Royal Foundation, and is designed to discover and scale the best solutions to repair our planet over the next ten years.
The royal is keen to ensure these projects carry on without his day-to-day involvement – and is keen to continue raiasing awareness of issues such as climate change, mental health and homelessness.
“He will remain very hands-on,” a close friend told the Mail. “He believes that as Prince of Wales he can continue to make a significant contribution, particularly in the area of housing and homelessness. He knew he needs to tread carefully but he won’t be silent. He’s inherited a lot of his father’s campaigning zeal.
“He shares his father’s willingness to speak if there’s something he believes in for the long term. The Prince of Wales was ridiculed for his views on climate change and look at him now. William wants to bring that to his own work.
Slimmed down monarchy
There has been much discussion about the King looking to create a “slimmed-down” monarchy. This likely to mean a focus on a smaller core group of working Royals, with Charles and Camilla, Prince William and Kate at its centre.
But what does this mean? In the last few years, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have departed from royal life, which Prince Andrew was stripped of his duties.
Sources close to William have previously indicated that William thinks the Duke of York can never return to public life, but also believes there is no role for other royals, such as his cousins Princess Beatrice and Eugenie – which may prompt some awkward rows.
A member of his inner circle told the Mail: “He adores his cousins and values their love and support hugely. He is always telling his team to make sure they are invited to the big occasions and is focused on making sure his team fosters a good relationship with them.”
“But like his father he believes a slimmed down monarchy is the way forward.”
English