William’s relationship with his father Charles is thought to have been rocky for some years. During his childhood, the Duke of Cambridge was allegedly aware of his father’s affair with his now-wife Camilla Parker Bowles, despite being married to Princess Diana at the time. The two men then struggled to develop a healthy relationship in the years after the Princess of Wales’ death.
Still, some sources have told Vanity Fair that since getting married and becoming a father, William and Charles found themselves “very much on the same page” and united in their “sense of duty”.
However royal biographer Robert Lacey, author of the new book ‘Battle of Brothers’, has implied there was still a significant gap between the second-in-line to the throne and the third.
He said: “William looks to his grandmother for his values, not to his father.
“He thinks his father has… lost his way.”
He told the Daily Mail that the survival of the Royal Family is mostly in William’s hands.
However, the fabric of the Firm has been threatened particularly in the last year due to both Prince Andrew’s retirement and William’s reported rift with his brother Prince Harry.
The royal biographer said it was absolutely paramount that the Duke of Cambridge brings the Royal Family back together in some way.
He claimed: “The idea of our modern royalty was built on the idea of these two brothers.”
READ MORE: Kate Middleton and Prince William’s risky venture into politics
Their bond helped to recapture the public’s affection in the following years — meaning their brotherly rift which is alleged to have started when Harry introduced Meghan Markle to the family, carries great importance.
Mr Lacey said it was essential for the brothers to make amends, claiming: “Does Prince William want to go down in history as the king who couldn’t hold his family together?
“This thing has to be resolved, one way or the other.”
Charles is thought to have been more lenient towards Harry’s dramatic decision to leave the Firm, while William was furious, according to various insiders.
Still, Charles does not appear to have been very involved with the brothers’ fallout.
Yet, the biographer speculated last week: “Perhaps there is still time for Charles to act. I hope so.”
However, William and Charles not only appear to have different outlooks on Harry’s rift from the rest of the Firm but differ in their whole approach to being on the royal frontline.
The Duke of Cambridge claimed in his recent ITV documentary that “someone has to put their head above the parapet” in relation to the increasingly politicised issue of climate change.
However, he is still a long way off the “meddling” which the Prince of Wales has been accused of for decades.
William hinted in a 2016 BBC interview whom he aspired to be as a future monarch.
He said: “I’ve got my grandmother who takes more of a passive role.
“She’s above politics and is very much away from it.
“And then I’ve got my father, who minds an awful lot about the charities he’s involved in and really digs down into his charitable areas as much as you can.
“I haven’t an equal idea as to how my role could benefit everyone in the future.”
He continued: “In the Queen I have an extraordinary example of someone who has done an enormous amount of good and she’s probably the best role model I could have in front of me.”
