What made Prince William even wealthier after his father was
crowned? And how does the prince plan to keep the monarchy relevant? We have the answers.
William became the Prince of Wales, the family was in for some change. Late in her life,
Queen Elizabeth II chose to move to Windsor Castle as her primary residency,
according to Hello! Magazine. In order to support the queen, William and Catherine, Prince and
Princess of Wales, chose to move to Adelaide Cottage on the grounds of the Windsor estate.
The move is an abrupt departure from their previous digs at Kensington Palace in London;
they've now become country folk. The move also meant a new school for their children,
Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. In September 2022, they started attending
Lambrook School, a private school near Windsor. They had previously attended London's Thomas's
Battersea, so the move was not only a domestic change but an educational one for the children.
Queen Elizabeth died right after the kids had their first day at school,
so it was a huge upheaval for the family. Not only was it a time of grief, but the change
brought a huge shift for the family in terms of their royal duties. An insider told People,
"Things were very tense that week;
it was not exactly the settling-in period they had hoped for."
Prince William also became the Duke of Cornwall when his father,
King Charles III, became king. Inheriting this dukedom meant that William inherited
the Duchy of Cornwall, which is famously a major cash cow.
"When his father became King Charles III, he became an even wealthier man overnight."
As The New York Times notes, under Charles' careful management, it grew to a value of
$1.17 billion. The duchy spans 128,000 acres and brings in revenue from natural resources,
like the mines on the land, as well as farmland, and residential and commercial
buildings. The massive revenue from the duchy has also come under some tax scrutiny,
like much of the royal family's revenue. But according to The Guardian, Charles agreed to
pay the top rate of income tax, which came to 45%. It's expected that William will do the same.
The duchy's wealth trickled over to support other members of the royal family. Back when
Charles was the Duke of Cornwall, the duchy paid for Catherine's wardrobe and that of
Meghan Markle's when she was a senior royal. The duchy also covered the needs of Charles' wife,
Camilla, before she became the Queen Consort. So it offset a lot of costs
for Charles' loved ones, and will likely do the same for William's.
Prince William had a very different childhood experience than that of his father,
King Charles III. Charles became the heir apparent at four, when Queen Elizabeth II,
ascended the throne. As such, his childhood was marked by such an intense royal duty.
This was much the same for William. As a child, he had the buffer of being second
in line for the throne, and Princess Diana made sure that William and Prince
Harry had experiences outside of royal life. She told Martin Basher in 1995,
"With William and Harry, for instance, I take them round homelessness projects, I've taken William
and Harry to people dying of AIDS — albeit I told them it was cancer — I've taken the children to
all sorts of areas where I'm not sure anyone of that age in this family has been before."
Unlike Charles, William was 40 years old when he became the heir apparent, and was already
a husband and father. However, a shift to the heir apparent is a tough one, no matter the age.
"I certainly don't lie awake at night waiting or hoping for
it. Because it sadly means my family has moved on, and I don't want that."
In a nutshell, Prince William's job as the heir apparent and as
the Prince of Wales is to support the monarch.
William will act in Charles' stead as needed, representing the crown in areas like the armed
services. The position will also include international trips, which William has
already done even before becoming the Prince of Wales, along with Catherine, Princess of Wales,
at his side. It also includes work in the United Kingdom, as well as leading Investitures,
where a member of the royal family presents honors and awards to recipients.
In becoming the Prince of Wales, the individual actually swears an oath to the crown. As Newsweek
pointed out, when Charles took the title, he swore allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II.
With Prince William first in line for the throne, this means that his son, Prince George,
is going to get much more attention now that he's second in line. William's new title also means
that his other children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, have bumped up in the line as well.
So this means that he and Princess Catherine have their work cut out for them as parents.
Stephanie Wallis, who founded Safe & Sound Childcare Events,
told Express that William and Catherine's primary focus is keeping their children humble,
since they literally have everything. Wallis said,
"We know that Kate and William are very hands-on parents who teach their children
in a way that will keep their feet firmly on the ground and humble as they grow up."
In July 2021, George went with his parents to Wembley Stadium to watch
England play in the Euro. Royal writer Roya Nikkah told Royal Beat,
"This is an official duty for Prince George at the age of 7. It's lovely and happy and
there's a lot of emotion. Getting him used to big crowds and knowing that he
is being watched by millions of people — it's quite a clever way of doing it."
"Hello David Attenborough, what animal do you think will become extinct next?"
Within the royal family, there's a tradition that the monarch cannot fly with the heir to
the throne. As the Mirror points out, King Charles III and Prince William
cannot travel on the same plane in case something goes wrong on the flight and
both the monarch and the heir should die. Now that William is the Prince of Wales,
his son, Prince George, cannot fly with his father either, Metro notes.
While this is the standard practice, William and his wife have broken this rule many times,
even before he became the Prince of Wales. In 2013, William, Catherine,
and baby George traveled together in the same plane to visit Australia and New Zealand.
The same went for their trips to Canada, Germany, and Poland, among other places.
Essentially, it's up to the monarch whether a senior member of the royal family can travel
with another member. When Queen Elizabeth II was alive, she softened on the tradition.
Now the final say goes to Charles and time will tell how he will
adapt to the travel tradition in the royal family.
Prince William has been in the spotlight since he was born. Like Catherine,
Princess of Wales, Princess Diana gave birth to William in London at
the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital in 1982, per People,
and from the moment that she and King Charles III exited the hospital, William was a public figure.
So it's not like the experience of being in the spotlight is new for William — but
his new title as the Prince of Wales and the heir apparent puts him into the public eye in
an even more intense way. Part of this is because his parents' marriage fell apart,
and so they would never be crowned together.
"Well there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."
For William and Catherine, things are different. They present a united front,
and this brings an appeal to their future as king and queen. Professor Arianne Chernock,
an expert on British monarchy, told The New York Times of Charles' reign:
"This is a very transitional monarchy. I think we're going to have to wait honestly
until William and Kate, until we see more significant updating. But always,
of course, also attuned to and mindful of tradition."
Prince William and Princess Catherine have the tall order of modernizing the monarchy. Since
they're both young, they're tapping into a new potential for the British royal family
that previous monarchs haven't been able or interested in reaching. The whole appeal of
Queen Elizabeth II was that she represented the traditional predictability of the crown.
With William and Catherine, people are expecting a delicate balance of
tradition and adaptability. They present as a close family with a down-to-earth appeal.
Professor Laura Clancy spoke to The New York Times about William and Catherine's appeal:
"I think you get an image that is more intimate probably than
what Charles offers. That kind of staging of that very nuclear family,
you can still see that with Kate and the children and him as this hands-on dad."
While they present such a classical image of a royal family, William and
Catherine are navigating their place in the modern world. They have a YouTube channel,
they have an Instagram account, and in January 2022, Catherine appeared on the podcast Happy Mum,
Happy Baby. Queen Elizabeth didn't do interviews. Christiane Amanpour told PBS,
"[Queen Elizabeth] had conversations with the likes of David Attenborough,
with an expert on the crown jewels. I remember those were two 'interviews' that really weren't."
The late queen just had a different way of navigating the monarchy. Catherine and William,
on the other hand, are finding different ways
of connecting with a world that has less interest in opacity and mystery.
King Charles III has been a staunch environmentalist for decades,
long before it became a main part of public
discourse. He farmed ecologically and used solar panels at Clarence House.
He said in a speech in 2014,
"As you may possibly have noticed from time to time,
I have tended to make a habit of sticking my head above the parapet and generally
getting it shot off for pointing out what has always been blindingly obvious to me."
Prince William has already started championing his father's causes. William's initiative,
the Earthshot Prize, through the Royal Foundation,
awards five people each year for their environmental initiatives.
"I hope everyone watching understands more about the
urgent challenges facing our planet in this decisive decade."
This certainly aligns with his dad's causes. What's even more significant
is that since Charles is now king, he won't be able to get as involved as he
did when he was the Prince of Wales. But William has also carried other causes to
the spotlight. He and Catherine have made mental health a huge campaign of theirs.
"Suicide is one of the biggest killers of young men under 45."
It was called Heads Up, and they even created a texting
system that provides 24-hour support for people.