Details About King Charles And Prince William's Rumored Rivalry (And Why It Fizzled Out)

From the outside, King Charles III and William, Prince of Wales, have always appeared to enjoy a strong relationship. In reality, however, there was a time when the father and son were reportedly locked in a power struggle of sorts. According to a 2023 article in the Daily Beast, the supposed royal rivalry started because Prince William wanted to take on more responsibilities than his title actually required. A source informed the publication that although Charles was supportive of his eldest son's desire to pave his own way in the world, he still wanted William to follow the same path he did. 

"I am sure they will butt heads as Charles is allergic to anyone telling him what to do, and William is not exactly famed for his subtlety," an ex-staffer at Buckingham Palace asserted. "But I think it is broadly seen as a productive rivalry, rather than a destructive one, because William respects his father's 'rank' as head of The Firm." We heard similar rumors of a feud brewing between the royals in Omid Scobie's 2023 book "Endgame." A source told the journalist, and friend of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, that Charles generally respected the way his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, ran the show. 

In contrast, William wanted to assert a stronger sense of independence as quickly as possible, so he wasn't willing to just sit back and let Charles have complete control over the monarchy. The controversial author also claimed that William didn't want his father's actions to negatively affect people's perception of him. Thankfully, their rumored rivalry never became one of Charles' messiest family feuds. 

After the 2024 D-Day commemoration event in June, The Sunday Times reported that King Charles III and William, Prince of Wales' rumored rivalry was a thing of the past. As a confidant clarified, the king held his eldest son's opinion in the highest regard and often asked William for his thoughts on ways to handle the various issues that arose from their ongoing discord with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex. The source added that all those discussions had brought the father and son closer on a professional level as well as a personal one because they could put their heads together to process their fractured relationship with Harry. 

"The king sees his son as a useful ally on family matters and increasingly in discharging the duties of nation and state," the insider confirmed. They continued, "When you are monarch, you're not counting the column inches. You're thinking about performing your role for your country, not just as King Charles but as 'the family.'" 

William has consistently been a pillar of strength for his father and continues to remain by his side through Charles' cancer treatment. In addition, their rivalry may have ended because William reportedly has mixed feelings about his future ascension to the throne. A source firmly told the Daily Beast that the prince's top priority was his children and not the monarchy, despite several insiders suggesting otherwise.

In 2024, King Charles III and Catherine, Princess of Wales, announced that they had both been diagnosed with cancer. The concurrent diagnoses not only signaled the beginning of a rough time for William, Prince of Wales, in his personal life, but also with his work, as the beleaguered royal faced the possibility of taking over the reins sooner than expected. In a 2024 article, The New York Times reported that Prince William and Kate Middleton had been forced to come to terms with the fact that they would not get to parent their kids privately as the couple had always hoped. Furthermore, William ultimately found the idea of ascension to be incredibly stressful. 

To make matters worse, there weren't many royals who could stand in for Charles amid his diagnosis, so William had to take on extra duties. However, Charles' cancer diagnosis reportedly prompted the king to improve his relationships with both William and Prince Harry. In 2024, a source explained to the Daily Beast that "[Charles is] a very warm man and worried endlessly about the impact of everything that happened in their childhoods on the boys, but the diagnosis has come as a huge shock, and instinctively something like this makes you appreciate and draw together with your family." 

Given all this, it's unsurprising that, according to a friend of the prince, William and Charles are "closer now than they have ever been." So, it certainly seems like the father and son's rumored rivalry only brought them together in the end.