Prince William Is Tired of "Too Much Talk," Says He Wants to Make This Major Change When He's King
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Like his father, King Charles, Prince William has spent his entire life planning for the day when he eventually takes the throne. With the Prince of Wales now in his forties and his 76-year-old father battling cancer, that future could potentially not be so distant—and now, a group of royal insiders has opened up to the Times about what William's kingship will look like.
Multiple people who have worked with the Prince of Wales revealed what he's really like behind the scenes, like William Hague, a former U.K. cabinet minister who helped create United for Wildlife with the prince. Prince William contacted Hague to start the organization because of his past work with the illegal wildlife trade, with United for Wildlife falling under the umbrella of the Royal Foundation.
"He's not one for long meetings or going around the same thing again," Hague told the publication. "I've often heard him say, 'There's been too much talk about that. We need to see some action.'" Hague continued that while the Prince of Wales "is friendly to deal with and personable," someone "really wouldn't want to go and tell him, 'We've got absolutely nowhere in stopping elephant ivory being sold.'
"He wants to know that you're getting results," Hague added, calling the prince "affable" but "tough."
According to the Times, Prince William wants to focus more on "projects not patronages," working on causes that can deliver real change versus "ribbon-cutting representation."
While speaking to journalists in South Africa last fall, the Prince of Wales made similar comments, stating, "I can only describe what I'm trying to do and that's trying to do it differently and I'm trying to do it for my generation. I'm doing it with maybe a smaller r in the royal, if you like, that's maybe a better way of saying it."
King William is certain to take a slightly less-formal approach than monarchs in the past while trying to remain an involved dad to Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9 and Prince Louis, 7. "He'll be asking, if [the children] are still young when I take on the big job, how do I maintain that privacy?" one source said, adding William and Kate likely "won't move" to Buckingham Palace.
However, the public shouldn't expect William and Kate to turn the Royal Family upside down. 'They're pretty conservative about this stuff,' said former palace aide Jason Knauf, who now serves as CEO of the prince's Earthshot Prize. "Compared with some of the advice that they've been given [and dismissed] over the years, it's still pretty royal."
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