The excerpts from Robert Jobson’s latest book, The Windsor Legacy, are getting increasingly funny and increasingly obvious. As I’ve said this whole time, Jobson is a loyalist for King Charles and Queen Camilla. He writes from their perspective, and his briefings are from their courtiers and friends. Jobson also has to pay the “Sussex tax” of all royal “reporting” these days, and that was evident from the first round of excerpts, which contained a lot of false and idiotic bullsh-t about how Queen Elizabeth II secretly hated Harry and Meghan. But all of that was just an appetizer for the real story: Charles is at war with his heir, and Charles wants a lot of gossip out there about the current Prince and Princess of Wales. None of this gossip is flattering! Some more highlights:
William flies his whole family around: In early 2024, Charles was horrified to learn that William had flown his entire family in his helicopter, a habit that had already alarmed the late Queen. Had there been a fatal accident, Harry would have immediately become heir to the throne. No one can prevent William from flying with his family if he wants to, but Charles wanted to drive his point home. So after his cancer diagnosis, he revisited the issue, instructing senior aide Sir Mike Stevens to obtain William’s written acknowledgement of the risks. William refused, and his curt reply was sharp enough for Sir Mike to report it back to the King.
Charles makes his courtiers deal with William: These are not trivial matters for a King who has always loathed confrontation. The best way, he has found, of dealing with his elder son’s occasional impetuousness or obstinacy is to delegate. What this means is that the monarch will often leave senior aides to raise tough work issues with William. It has led to the prince clashing with the imperturbable Sir Clive Alderton, Charles’s loyal private secretary, as well as other senior aides, echoing Charles’s past tensions with the late Queen’s aide, Lord Geidt. While Charles managed to ease Geidt out of his job, however, William has failed to unsettle Alderton, who is a seasoned diplomat. Consequently, the prince has reportedly become fixated on the senior courtier.
William was late to the coronation: Then there was that blip during Charles’s meticulously planned Coronation in 2023 when William turned up a few minutes late. The King was annoyed. His son’s excuse was that he’d been busy filming a video for his social media about the big day. Still, at least William had donned the correct ceremonial garments for the ceremony. As Charles knew, his son hadn’t wanted to wear them at all, but he’d conceded in the end for the King’s sake.
William refuses to wear a kilt: There has been no give at all on another clothing issue: the donning of a kilt. William refuses ever to wear one, despite holding various Scottish titles, including the Duke of Rothesay. For Charles, wearing a kilt is more than merely a tradition; it’s a vital symbol of Scottish identity and of the crown his son will one day inherit. ‘The King has repeatedly urged him, yet William won’t budge,’ says a senior source. William has made it crystal-clear to his father and to courtiers – even to Queen Elizabeth in her later years – that he is not in the traditional royal mould. Instead, he has redrawn the line between duty and family, at least until it’s his turn to wear the crown.
Kate has always refused to work more: As for Catherine, her priorities were set as soon as she had her first child. A former royal aide puts it simply: ‘She supports William and together they raise their children their way. They are their priority. Of course, her public duties matter, but family matters more.’ Some sneer, calling Catherine’s approach terribly quaint and traditional. But she calls it essential. Along with doing school runs, she watches the plays and cheers at sports days – just as her own parents did when she was a schoolgirl. ‘She wants her children to feel that same security,’ said another source.
William’s homelessness work: William has also drawn criticism – not least for his five-year plan to tackle homelessness. Detractors pointed to the irony of the cause being fronted by a royal prince with three homes and a £25million annual income from the Duchy of Cornwall. The national charity Crisis estimates that £1.9billion could end homelessness – so a large personal contribution from William would definitely have an impact. The prince and his family have just moved into their third home – eight-bedroomed Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park. Sources close to William say this will be his ‘forever home’ even after he becomes King. Will Windsor Castle merely become a place for ceremonials? Already King Charles uses Buckingham Palace as his office rather than his home, so the two most symbolic homes of the British monarch are likely to be deserted.
William was a no-show at VJ Day this year: And why, some have questioned, didn’t William take part in the 80th VJ Day commemorations – unlike his father, who had every excuse to stay away due to his continuing treatment for cancer? If the prince continues down this path, the Crown may become increasingly irrelevant under his reign. After all, as the late Queen once wisely pointed out, she had to be seen to be believed.
This reads like the “greatest hits” of Charles’s issues with his heir and daughter-in-law. Charles is STILL pissed that William skipped VJ Day, and that William is idiotically focused on homelessness whilst hypocritically moving into his sixth forever home. Charles is still fuming about William and Kate turning up late to his coronation. Charles is still mad that Kate does f–k all. The new wrinkle – well, new to me, at least – is that William is mad at Charles’s senior staff. Alderton is apparently in William’s crosshairs, just as Prince Harry was and is disgusted with Alderton too. Which brings up an uncomfortable issue for William: if he hadn’t been so childish, jealous, stupid, racist and evil, he really could have used Harry’s backing on so many issues in recent years, especially Alderton. Oh well.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
