When Prince William arrived at Windsor Castle on an electric scooter for his interview with actor Eugene Levy for his show The Reluctant Traveler, it was clear the Prince, 43, was on a mission to prove he was a different kind of royal to his father King Charles II.
But the candid chat did more than that, it has also deeply wounded his father, 76, who is said to be distressed at what he perceives to be a series of slights his son made about him.
SILENT TREATMENT
Amid growing reports of tension between the royal pair, insiders say Charles and William’s relationship has descended “into silence” with Charles upset about William’s remarks about his childhood, his parents’ divorce, and the need to change the monarchy.
In the moving chat William says he is committed to giving George, 12, Charlotte, 10, and Louis, seven, the calm and constant family life he didn’t have growing up.
“I think it’s really important that the atmosphere is created at home. You have to have that warmth, that feeling of safety, security, love,” William shares. “That all has to be there, and that was certainly part of my childhood. My parents got divorced… so that lasted a short period of time.”
Diana and the then, Prince Charles married in 1981 and the marriage came to a catastrophic end, largely due to Charles long-running affair with the now queen, Camilla.
“Bringing up the failure of Charles and Diana’s marriage doesn’t achieve much and smacks of Harry’s whinges,” royal correspondent Phil Dampier tells Woman’s Day.
“The King and the Prince need to be singing from the same song sheet. As far as Prince Harry and Prince Andrew are concerned, they have their hands full without William rocking the boat.”
THE CROWN DIVIDED
But it was William’s comments on how he is bringing up his family that really shook Charles.
“I want to create a world in which my son is proud of what we do and I hope we don’t go back to some of the practices in the past that Harry and I had to grow up with,” said William.
One senior courtier tells us: “That hurt and although the King won’t say anything in return, he was deeply upset by some of what William said.
“Sometimes he feels he is being undermined on all sides, the courtier says.
“Harry is sniping from the sidelines in California, making comments on how long his father has to live, and now William is setting out his plans for the future.
“All the time the King is battling his cancer and doing his best to be a unifying influence in an increasingly divisive time for society.
“Anything that questions him or how he is doing the job is not very helpful,” they shared.
“It’s all about tradition and continuity and William, who took an oath of allegiance at the Coronation, needs to remember that.”
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