Prince William “Won’t Be Pushed Around” As He Gets Closer to Taking the Throne Someday

As the Prince of Wales turned 43 years old over the weekend, the past year “has demonstrated William’s character and his courage.”

The Gist

• Prince William just turned 43 years old on June 21, this past Saturday.
• A new wide-ranging report in The Times details what a monarchy under William’s reign might look like, from whether he’ll live in Buckingham Palace to what changes he’ll make to modernize the monarchy.
• The Prince of Wales’s dedication to his family has never been stronger, and the report also detailed his current feelings on his brother, Prince Harry, after years of strife.

Prince William just turned 43 years old over the weekend, and, as with most of us, each birthday brings a moment for reflection.

For the Prince of Wales, unlike most of us, he is preparing to take the throne and become King of England in due course. What will a reign under William look like? Much has been spoken of this lately, and a new report in The Times quoted a source close to him as saying, “there is an inner sense of reappraisal about what is important to him.”

William’s monarchy, those close to the future king said, will be “an evolution not a revolution,” but do acknowledge that there will be changes: “He’s definitely been thinking a lot about how things will evolve over time,” a friend told the outlet. “When the moment comes, he’ll want to do it his way—genuinely, not just following a script. He’s not afraid to dig into the details, ask the tough questions, and figure out what actually works today. He wants to make sure the whole thing has even more impact and remains relevant.”

William seems very interested in making sure the monarchy is “fit for purpose in the modern era,” The Times stressed. While he will likely keep Buckingham Palace as “monarchy HQ,” like his father King Charles, he probably won’t live there. The report also added that William is “mindful of how much the monarchy costs” and will be “hands on” in restructuring to keep the budget leaner, with plans to “take every stone and look underneath it” while assessing the “footprint of the institution.”

Jason Knauf, who has worked closely with William for years and is now the chief executive of his Earthshot Prize, said, “He has been thinking about the future for years, and he knows that what his grandmother [Queen Elizabeth] did and what his father does is an evolution. There are traditions and things that won’t change, but this thinking about the next [role] is how is this going to be reflective of him? That’s the way he thinks about the future. It’s all an evolution, making it work for what people expect of him and leaders of his generation. The late Queen didn’t keep doing the same thing for 70 years, and it won’t ever feel like it’s done. It will feel different but not jarring—he’ll want it to feel like a natural progression that people expect of him. If it feels like that, it will be a success.”

The report continued that Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, “will play a much more prominent role,” adding that William feels that the Edinburghs are “needed” and that “it’s really important the fantastic work that they do is seen.” While William appreciates his cousins like Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and Zara Tindall, “he has no plans to put them on the payroll,” The Times reported.

Of his relationship with his brother Prince Harry, the outlet reported that William’s anger at their disintegrating bond has turned to indifference: “What has struck me the most recently is that he just doesn’t mention it at all,” a friend told The Times. “It used to be that the family stuff was taking up a lot of space in his head—it was a very close relationship and he was very upset. But he’s not letting it get to him at all anymore. It is a change. It’s sad, but it’s a much healthier space for him to be at.”

Instead, his focus has doubled down on his wife Kate Middleton and their kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. “He’s always been fiercely protective of them, and will be fiercely protective of them in the future,” a source said.

 A source close to the Wales family added, “When you’re going through a tough time like that and you’ve got a lot of tough choices to make in terms of protecting your family, the public support and having had the time to be a husband and father through it all was important.”

As for public support, “I don’t think he’s ever doubted it, but they don’t take it for granted and always want to make sure they express gratitude whenever they have the opportunity,” the insider added.

“William has always been clear about how important his family is—it’s a vital element in his life and in the life of the royal family as an institution, because of the example that a really steady, stable, and happy family projects,” said Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, a former principal private secretary to William, Kate, and Harry—who is also George’s godfather. Of the past year—which William has called “brutal”—Lowther-Pinkerton continued, “I think it has demonstrated William’s character and his courage—he’s had to take the whole thing in his stride and shown that he won’t be pushed around.”