I’m not a natural conspiracy theorist. And neither are members of the Royal Family generally, believe it or not.
But if recent events are anything to go by, then something is starting to look more than a little suspect.
From sources at the weekend, apparently close to the Sussexes, suggesting Prince Harry might be able to ‘help’ lighten the load of royal engagements, to claims by biographer Tina Brown that King Charles is ‘less irritated’ by his prodigal son than he is by Prince William over his work ethic, there has been a torrent of suggestions about tensions at the top.
Indeed, a source close to both the King and the Prince of Wales told me starkly this week: ‘It’s evident there’s an attempt to manufacture division between them, when in reality, no such rift exists. In truth, their relationship is as strong as ever, they are aligned in their work, with many areas of shared interest, and united in their vision for the role of the Royal Family.’
Some even speculate that King Charles and Prince William are barely speaking, based on snatched footage of the monarch and heir at Westminster Cathedral for the Duchess of Kent’s funeral, which they claim shows the pair studiously ignoring each other.
Perish the thought they had already spoken inside the cathedral itself and reflected on what a beautiful service it had been. Which is what happened.
And yes, William did look awkward as they waited outside. But I am told it was because he was ‘acutely aware’ that, despite the public nature of the occasion, this was a private moment of grief for the Kent family.
Admittedly the unwelcome presence of his uncle, Prince Andrew, goofing around with his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, was ‘unhelpful’, they say. But friends tell me William was more concerned, having spotted the cameras, to ensure the dignity of the duchess and her family was respected as her coffin was gently placed in the State Hearse. That’s why he looked so serious.
Some speculate that King Charles and Prince William are barely speaking, based on snatched footage of the monarch and heir at Westminster Cathedral for the Duchess of Kent’s funeral
Meanwhile the King, as first head of the Church of England to attend a royal Catholic funeral in modern history, was busy talking to the Archbishop of Westminster and other clerics, something William did not want to interrupt. Where this conjecture about their relationship is coming from, no one in the know is sure.
Sometimes a media whisper (that may or may not have a nugget of truth at the heart of it) is whipped up into a cacophony of speculation, particularly online.
But there’s now more than a flicker of suspicion in royal circles that something more calculated could be at work. What or who may be behind the conjecture isn’t clear. But it is a worrying turn of events after I revealed earlier this year that Kensington Palace had discovered Russian bots were seeking to disseminate misinformation around the Princess of Wales’s prolonged absence from public life in the run-up to her cancer announcement last year.
The timing is even stranger given last week’s State visit by the US President – which even the royals’ greatest naysayers acknowledge was a triumph, in diplomatic terms – and displayed the family’s soft power in action.
It’s important to acknowledge, in the interests of fairness, that William, 43, and his 76-year-old father have never had the easiest of relationships. No surprise given their complex family history, particularly the breakdown of Charles’s marriage to William’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
Harsh words have been exchanged in the past, angry rows permeating even the thickest castle walls, sometimes within earshot of staff. There have also been clashes of opinion on the professional side, such as the retention of ivory treasures in the Royal Collection (William wants to burn them, Charles believes they should be kept as historical artefacts) which not so long ago resulted in a ‘frank’ exchange.
But really, isn’t that what families can be like? And what bothers you in your 20s or 30s, doesn’t seem quite so important at 40. Particularly given the rollercoaster of the past few years for William, with his younger brother’s very public betrayal and his wife’s shock cancer diagnosis.
Similarly the King, who like many Windsor men can have a quick temper, is facing his own health challenges. While he is managing his cancer diagnosis extremely well, I am told, it has, naturally, been hugely challenging at times. And with both age and illness can often come a reassessment of what matters most. While it’s not a phrase he would personally use, the King is more of a proponent of ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ nowadays, in his own way. ‘Do they [the King and William] sit down for dinner every night, or even see each other every week? No. But they never have,’ a source reminds me.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex during his visit to the Centre For Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London earlier this month
‘However they do speak regularly and they are in absolute lockstep about the future of the monarchy and the good it can do this country.’
Another source adds: ‘Like many father-son relationships, there are occasional personal and competitive tensions. Both are very driven individuals and have very similar interests such as the environment, conservation, the military and helping deprived communities. However, they are also going about supporting them in quite different ways.
‘Does that sometimes bring them into competition with one another? Yes, to be fair, it does. But ultimately they have the same goal: to make life better for the people of this country.
‘The funny thing is that if they met as strangers at a dinner party they would find they had so much in common and were such natural bedfellows that they would be talking until 3am.’
And what brings them very much together is their understanding of the importance of those big state occasions.
‘They are acutely aligned on how important it is for these sort of events to run seamlessly,’ another insider adds. Why, then, do they not undertake more joint engagements together?
‘The whole point of having a Prince of Wales with a separate household and funding from the monarch is that they have space and autonomy to try things in a different way,’ a source argues.
‘Sometimes they get things right, sometimes wrong. But even their failures make them a better king when they get there. Don’t forget His Majesty had more than his fair share of ups and downs as heir to the throne.’
Charles, then the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry at the opening of the Invictus Games in 2014
Another insider emphasises that the King now spends more time at Windsor than anyone ever expected him to (he never had a particular affinity for the castle or its estate – preferring his own Highgrove home).
Now the Waleses have made the estate their ‘forever home’, it has enabled him to spend more time with his son and his family. And while the palace doesn’t make a habit of revealing when the two most senior members of the family meet, after two years of cancer battles it’s true to say father and son are closer both physically and mentally than they have been in a long time.
Indeed, I can reveal that they will be both be up in Scotland this week – admittedly staying in different residences (Birkhall for the King and neighbouring Balmoral for William, as is their habit) but they plan to meet and will almost certainly attend church together this Sunday.
‘Scotland is a place they both love,’ my source says.
And if the King privately feels his son could possibly take up some of the slack on those royal engagements, it’s not something that comes up in conversation.
‘If prioritising his family helps make him [William] a better king, it’s got to be a good investment,’ says one who knows them both.
‘The Prince of Wales has had a universally sh***y time of late… he lost his beloved grandmother, his brother, and has faced terrible heartache with his father and his wife. If this [way of doing things] makes him feel that much more happy and confident when the moment comes and he accedes him to the throne, then that’s something his father supports.’
They both have a vested interest in the institution of monarchy surviving and thriving. And no one will be allowed to drive a wedge between them over that.
