There has been a greater insight into how Prince William is defining himself as heir to the throne, following King Charles’s cancer diagnosis, claims a royal commentator.
For a few weeks, Prince William kept a low profile as he took a short break from engagements to look after Princess Kate as she continues to recover from her planned abdominal surgery.
In recent days, Prince William has been vocally and publicly visible, attending engagements and releasing statements such as his announcement to build homes for the homeless on his Cornwall estate in southwest England.
Speaking about the Prince’s public profile, Royal commentator, Justin Vovk said: “This has certainly been the most active and engaged [William has been] on events of this scale that we have ever seen, and we can attribute that to his role as heir.”
The McMaster University PhD candidate also added: “William really seems to be stepping out and looking to establish his own identity as Prince of Wales in a way that he’s never had the opportunity to before, and one that supports causes that are important to him but are also still in line with the overall values of the monarchy at the moment.”
Vovk said that directly addressing matters such as social housing and social welfare is not something typically seen from members of the Royal Family.
He explained: “But there have been statements from the Royal Family even in recent weeks that they are looking to create a more socially relevant monarchy that’s actually involved in caring for all the people of Britain in a non-political way.”
The Prince of Wales is set to have 24 new homes built in Nansledan, a suburb of Newquay and part of the Duchy of Cornwall, by next year, in his bid to tackle homelessness in Britain.
The development will include four-bedroom houses and one-bedroom flats, with the heir to the throne personally overseeing the project.
The heir to the throne offered the profit to cover all construction costs for the project and will supply the land free of charge.
Amid tensions between his brother, Prince Harry, it has been reported Prince William is putting his immediate family and their wellbeing above all else as he seeks to protect them from any more conflict with the Sussexes, according to a royal commentator.
William and Prince Harry once had a close bond, but grew gradually further apart after Harry married Meghan Markle and moved to California, with revelations made in the Duke’s memoir Spare making things even worse.
Royal expert Richard Kay said that instead “William is determined that family life is his number one priority”.
He said: “A lot of people were speculating that when the King got ill that William would have to be deputy King and step in and do all those things. William is stubbornly sticking to what he has agreed with his father that his family is the priority.”
