Prince William has taken the next step of his royal training by sitting at his father's side for the State Opening of Parliament.
It was the first time the future King had been at the event, which he attended alongside his father Prince Charles and step-mum Camilla after the Queen pulled out of attending.
It was announced just the day before that William would be attending the ceremony after t he Queen reluctantly pulled out on the advice of royal doctors due to her continued mobility problems.
During the event, William took his place in the procession behind the Imperial State Crown and sat at the side of Charles, who had the responsibility to read the Queen's speech.
And for the Mirror's royal editor Russell Myers, it shows how William is being primed already to be a future king and is learning the ropes with his dad.
He said: "William is emerging as a trusted lieutenant of the Queen, especially over the last couple of years."
Recently there has been much speculation about what the monarchy could be like when William is in charge with wife Kate, and it's already been dubbed the "Cambridge Way".
Insiders have told how the future king and queen have vowed to rip up the royal rule book in the pursuit of establishing this new way, cultivating their image and working on key lifelong projects. But what could this look like?
First names only and no bows or curtsies
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In one report from last week, it was said that William and Kate want to be addressed by name and not their titles.
The couple reportedly are keen to scrap stuffy formality – including curtsies and bows – when on duty.
A source said: “They want to be more approachable, less formal, less stuffy and break away with a lot of the tradition.
“So now it’s more ‘Wills and Kate’ instead of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge... ‘Just call me Wills’ type of thing.
"They want to try to avoid the bows and curtsies in public, be more approachable, less formal, less stuffy, and break away with a lot of the tradition and focus on a modern monarchy.”
No more never complain, never explain
One of the mantras the Royal Family seems to live by is "never complain, never explain".
It has been adopted by the Queen for much of her reign, but William could be ready to ditch this when he becomes King.
According to the Daily Mail, William is said to respect the approach favoured by the Queen but thinks the royals should be "agile" if they are to survive.
A source told the newspaper: "The prince believes that for him, the days of 'never complain' are over. He definitely won't be speaking out regularly but believes if the monarchy has something to say, then it should say it.
"He listens to people, he really does and has got a very clear vision for the future. He's very alive to what is modern and relevant and is very thoughtful. He wants to take his grandmother's success and build on it, his way."
New communications team
In March, William and Kate embarked on a tour of the Caribbean that was subjected to stinging criticism.
There were several public relations blunders as they travelled around Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas with the negative coverage leading William to have “abrupt” discussions with staff responsible for the “haphazard planning”, royal sources have revealed.
William has set upon a root-and-branch assessment of his entire team and will demand complete alignment with his vision for the future.
And last week, the Mirror exclusively revealed how William and Kate have personally interviewed two “star” candidates put forward by advisers to head up a new-look communications team tasked with cementing their image.
But the Cambridges rejected both potentials as “not being anywhere close to up to it”, it is understood.
An insider said the rejected PR candidates, a man and a woman, had been white civil servants in their 30s.
Sources have revealed how William and Kate have told advisers to start looking “beyond the confines of Whitehall” for new talent.
Far fewer staff - and core causes only
Another way William is said to be planning to shake up the monarchy is by having far fewer staff.
According to the Sun, he and Kate will have just half the estimated 137 staff that currently work for his father Charles to "create a more cost-effective and less formal team".
And with less staff, this means that William and Kate will reportedly focus on fewer causes rather than spread themselves too thinly.
These causes may only total five or six but would be "comfortable and credible".
Shorter trips abroad
Another thing that may become a thing of the past under William's watch is long tours abroad.
Tours, like the one to the Caribbean earlier this year that lasted a week, might be axed in favour of shorter trips overseas - with only one royal embarking on them.
The Sun points to Kate's trip to Copenhagen earlier this year as an example of this.
On that trip, Kate spent just two days in the Danish capital promoting her early years' development work while having an audience with the Queen of Denmark and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
Similarly, William travelled to Dubai in February for just one day to appear at the Dubai Expo.
They were both deemed huge successes and the itineraries were more focused to fit in with their current charity projects.
