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Prince William may not be the King of England just yet, but that doesn’t mean he’s not already preparing for the role. On the contrary, as the eldest son of King Charles, and thus first in line to the throne, the Prince is under quite a bit of pressure when it comes to the future of the British monarchy.
“Prince William is dedicated to duty, as imbued in him by Queen Elizabeth II, who tutored him every Sunday regarding his royal duties,” royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital. “He’s also under huge generational pressure since the increasing public popularity of the monarchy ranks highest for both him and Princess Catherine.”
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While King Charles has already made it clear that he has no interest in giving advice to either his son or his daughter-in-law, that hasn’t stopped the public from speculating as to when they will ascend the throne. Middleton is the number one most popular royal in the U.K. according to a YouGov survey, with the late Queen Elizabeth II coming in second and Prince William coming in third.
Of course, not all members of the royal family faired quite so well in the survey. Prince Andrew, for one, came in at number 17, with only 22 percent of the British public having a positive opinion of the disgraced Duke.
“[Prince William] believes [the Duke] has put the family in jeopardy,” Fordwich explained. “As a millennial, he won’t and can’t risk public association with disastrous members of the family who merely serve as distractions from public duty.”
A source who spoke to InTouch reiterated the sentiment: “It’s no secret that anyone who pushes back against him will be swiftly shown the door. He’s not willing to take any nonsense and the word is he’s already on his way to being the toughest ruler the family has ever seen.”
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Though his approach to Prince Andrew might differ slightly from his father’s, Prince William will follow in King Charles’s footsteps in one way: by continuing to “slim down” the monarchy.
“He wants expenses to be monitored closely, and any fat trimmed straight away,” the source told InTouch. “He doesn’t want there to be any sense that special perks are being handed out to the royals.”
One such special perk that might get the axe? Private jets. “The days of wasteful spending and overconsumption are ending now that William is at the helm,” the source claimed.
