King Charles and Prince William are perhaps closer than they’ve ever been before in the present day, but their past wasn’t always perfectly smooth sailing: “If there was ever a green-eyed monster or a sense of rivalry between the two, that is a chapter of the past,” a friend of the King’s told The Sunday Times. “The King sees his son as a useful ally on family matters, and, increasingly, in discharging the duties of nation and state. When you are monarch, you’re not counting the column inches. You’re thinking about performing your role for your country, not just as King Charles but as ‘the family.’”
It’s true—The Daily Beast reports that William is aware that “he’s way more popular in opinion polls than his dad” (which likely used to irk the King in the past) but, according to The Sunday Times, William is conscious of not “queering his father’s pitch,” or overshadowing him in deference to his role as the monarch (and he, William, the heir to the throne).
