The fact that Prince William has only been the Prince of Wales for a few years at this point does not change the fact that he has already demonstrated that he is committed to carrying out his duties in his own unique manner.
Given that both his bride, Princess Kate, and his father, King Charles, have been having treatment for cancer over the course of the past year, the future king has been forced to confront a number of significant obstacles as he has adjusted to his new role.
The Prince of Wales has already made it quite obvious that he is going to carve his own path in many different ways, and these significant personal issues came along with the process of determining what he wanted his role as heir-in-waiting to look like and how he wanted to approach his official obligations, according to Mirror.
Prince William expressed his approach as "royal with a small r" and expressed his desire to eliminate some of the formalities typically associated with the monarchy. He made this statement while he was in South Africa in November, where he had traveled for the Earthshot Prize, an award that he launched to find solutions to the climate crisis that are desperately needed. In addition, he has stated that he would want to concentrate on making "impact" rather than affixing his name to a large number of charitable organizations and activities, which would result in his influence being diminished.
This is a significant departure from King Charles and the late Queen, who have both held hundreds of patronages over the course of the last few decades during their respective reigns.
To ensure that his three children, Prince George, 11; Princess Charlotte, nine; and Prince Louis, six, continue to be at the top of his priority list despite his new responsibilities, Prince William has also maintained a family-first approach to his work-life balance. He has made sure that his commitment to his family has not changed.
Nevertheless, according to a royal expert, the prince will most certainly strive to "emulate" one specific aspect of his father King Charles's approach to his responsibilities, despite all the ways he is demonstrating his independence.
In an interview with The Sun's Royal Exclusive Show, Huw Thomas, a royal author and broadcaster for the BBC, noted that Prince William will most likely behave in a manner that is similar to that of his father when it comes to holding the title of Prince of Wales and cultivating strong relationships with the nation as a whole, as well as with Welsh culture.
King Charles was the individual who held the title of Prince of Wales for the longest period of time in the whole history of the United Kingdom. The late Queen Elizabeth gave it to him for the first time in 1959, when he was only nine years old. He continued to hold it until 2022, when he ascended to the throne, which is more than 64 years after the original bestowal.
King Charles made significant investments in Welsh culture during that period and dedicated himself to preserving a positive relationship with the nation. Prior to his investiture in 1969, he even spent nine weeks studying Welsh at the University of Aberystwyth in order to be able to deliver a speech in the language during the event.
The expert complimented King Charles's efforts as Prince of Wales and advised Prince William to "emulate" portions of his approach, saying, "I think King Charles did have a really good run at it."
He added, "I think even his detractors would say he didn't really put a foot wrong in Wales, in terms of any gaffes and that sort of thing. And it's up to Prince William to sort of emulate, at least that that pattern, if not, you follow him in all the different different bits of interest that he had."
Business Times has reached out to Prince William's representatives for comments.
