Friday, April 9, 2021

Prince Charles Feels ‘Erased,’ Knowing Brits Want Prince William to Be King

That Prince Charles will be king when his mother dies is set in constitutional stone. It is a non-negotiable certainty.

The only contingency that would see the crown skip a generation and pass directly to Prince William, despite that being an eventuality an opinion poll this week found the British public would vastly prefer, would be if Charles unexpectedly pre-deceased his mother.

Despite their existence only in the realm of fantasy wish-fulfillment, the popularity of the leapfrog theory still troubles the future king, a sensitive and easily discombobulated man, seasoned observers of the great British

It was one of Prince Philip’s most somber moments in the public eye: walking with young Prince William and Prince Harry at the funeral procession for their mother, Princess Diana.

The Duke of Edinburgh, who died on April 9 at age 99, was reportedly very concerned about the emotional well-being of his young grandsons during preparations for the funeral in 1997.

Anwar Hussein Collection
Prince Philip, Prince William, Earl Spencer, Prince Harry and Prince Charles followed the coffin of Princess Diana in 1997 in a procession from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey.Anwar Hussein / Getty Images
“We were all talking about how William and Harry should be involved and suddenly came Prince Philip’s voice,” a former government relations director told the UK's Evening Standard, recalling a conference call with the duke in the lead-up to the funeral. “We hadn’t heard from him before, but he was really anguished. ‘It’s about the boys,’ he cried, ‘They’ve lost their mother.’”

At a dinner before the funeral, Prince Philip apparently said to his grandsons, “I’ll walk if you walk.”

The Prince of Wales, Prince William, Prince Harry
Prince Philip remained with his grandsons as they arrived at Westminster Abbey. PA Images via Getty Images
True to his word, he walked alongside Prince William, 15, and Prince Harry, 12, during the procession from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey in London. The boys were also joined by their father, Prince Charles, and their mother’s younger brother, Earl Spencer.

Prince Harry looked back on that difficult day in an interview with the BBC in 2017, recalling how his father supported him and his brother during that time.

“One of the hardest things for a parent to have to do is to tell your children that your other parent has died," he said. "How you deal with that I don't know but, you know, he was there for us."


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