There’s no drama quite like royal drama. With King Charles and Prince William, there has always been a question of succession. We know Prince William is set to succeed his father on the throne, but the question hasn’t been if, but when. That question, after all, had often been asked even before Queen Elizabeth passed away.
Back then, there was speculation that she would just hand over the throne to Prince William directly, passing over her son, now King Charles. That, of course, did not happen. Now, the questions have moved onto why King Charles, who has been battling cancer in the last year, won’t just hand over the throne to Prince William, who is younger and in better health. The throne does, after all, come with a lot of perks, but a lot of work and King Charles—who already has the title and the recognition—would just retire somewhere and live in peace.
So why isn’t King Charles handing over the throne to Prince William? The answer is, perhaps, simple. British royals expert Hilary Fordwich stressed to Fox News Digital that the last time a royal abdicated, it caused a “crisis” something “The Firm” is likely trying to avoid at all costs.
“Prince William has been assuming more responsibilities, and there have been preparations for more transitions of responsibility,” she explained. “Both Prince William and Princess Catherine have been readying to assume leadership roles with an accelerated schedule of preparation for their future positions as king and queen. But most certainly, they are not in any way actively seeking an immediate ascension.”
This means that both King Charles and Prince William understand what their roles are at this moment in time. “The entire family, all senior roles, are more focused on the best interests of the monarchy’s stability and continuity, hence all being content with the gradual transition rather than any immediate decisions. The only definite thing is that an abdication would be a significant departure from all tradition,” the royal expert also added, explaining that “Given his mother’s values, King Charles is most likely to do all he can to continue serving, dedicating himself to duty.”
Or, there might be more to it. Another source has suggested the reason for Charles’ hesitation might go deeper. Prince William recently switched lawyers, from Harbottle & Lewis and its partner, Gerrard Tyrrell—the same lawyers his father used—to Mishcon de Reya, which represented Princess Diana in her divorce from Charles.
”William wanted to strike out on his own,” a source told the Daily Mail about it. “He did not want to continue using his father’s lawyers. It’s as simple as that. He wants to be his own man.”
The Daily Mail even quoted a source close to William as saying, “William wants to do things differently from his father, and wants to be seen to do them differently.” Perhaps that’s enough for King Charles to want to retain his throne as long as he can, particularly considering the lawyers his son chose.
Royals—their drama is just like ours.
