The Times of London published a curious piece today called “What will change when William is king? By royal insiders.” Kate Mansey spoke to “former prime ministers and palace aides” about Prince William “reinventing what it means to be the future king.” The “reinvention” is “do less,” by the way. And this piece isn’t even really about “what happens when William is king,” it’s about how he’s changed the role of the “Prince of Wales” and he’s changed the expectations as the heir to the throne. While there are are many people quoted in this piece – William Hague, Jacinda Ardern, Jason Knauf – there are also unnamed “aides” quoted to discuss some personal stuff, like how Kate envisions her role as future queen and eventual queen. Obviously, there also had to be some mentions of the ginger who got away! I think the Kate and Harry sections were the whole point of this very strange story.

Is William truly incandescent with rage? Some reports, including Prince Harry’s autobiography Spare, have described William as having a temper. But that’s not the view of people who have worked with him for years. He is known to fire off dozens of weekend WhatsApps to staff and was described to me by a senior figure on one of his projects as “a stringent boss”. He won’t be pushed into anything he doesn’t want to do and is laser-focused about what he wants to achieve. But he was described by many I spoke to as “thoughtful” and “collaborative”. They will tell you that his sometimes tough approach is born of a zeal to get results.

Projects not patronages: The Earthshot scheme is just one example of a shift in the way William sees his royal role, which sources say is one of “projects not patronages”. In other words, a move away from ribbon-cutting representation — perfect in a world of traditional media — to a role that can be seen to deliver practical benefits.

William Hague on Prince William: Hague describes William as “affable” but “tough” when it comes to getting results. “He’s not one for long meetings or going around the same thing again,” he says. “I’ve often heard him say, ‘There’s been too much talk about that. We need to see some action.’ He is friendly to deal with and personable. [But] you really wouldn’t want to go and tell him, ‘We’ve got absolutely nowhere in stopping elephant ivory being sold.’ He wants to know that you’re getting results.”

How Kate sees her role: According to several sources who know the couple well, Kate has always seen her role as a supporting one. She is understood to have been inspired by the late Duke of Edinburgh, who made an individual contribution while being very clear that his role was to support the monarch. For Kate, that means acting as a gatekeeper to ensure that William can do his work while also finding time to be a hands-on father, and that everyone understands that this is the deal. It’s “the long game”. She is said to be allergic to any PR gimmicks — and there have been several — that have been suggested to her over the years. When the princess spoke on camera from a bench in Windsor about her diagnosis last March, it was her idea. Ditto when she released that video after completing chemotherapy.

The importance of control: “Three words come to mind when I think of William,” says a source who has known them both for many years. “Normal, private, control. These are the things he wants: as normal a life as possible; private time for his family; and control over how he organises his life and work. Kate is just as strong on control and privacy as him. In that glare of publicity and scrutiny they are very tight, very close, very strong, and cancer has made them closer and stronger, which is very common in families facing these challenges. She’s hugely influential behind the scenes in hiring and decision-making and they approach it as a team. Like the late Queen and Prince Philip, and the King and Queen, they’re a good double act.”

The Prince Harry section: When promoting Spare, Harry presented himself as a bird who had managed to escape the gilded cage of royal life. “My father and my brother, they are trapped,” he told Oprah Winfrey. “They don’t get to leave and I have huge compassion for that.” Meanwhile, Harry doesn’t look to be flying so high any more. While William will no doubt have looked on with jealousy as Harry dropped into Ukraine to meet wounded troops (despite claiming his life is at risk in Britain without police protection), the duke’s charity Sentebale is in turmoil. Harry started Sentebale in honour of his mother nearly 20 years ago; now it is engulfed in a bitter row with the chair of the board who has accused the organisation of bullying and racism. A source who knows both brothers well says William has moved on, adding, “How ironic that Harry is the one that feels trapped. What does he do? He doesn’t seem to have any more idea of what to do with himself now than when he left.”

William & Kate are grounded: People who know William describe him as “pretty grounded”, acknowledging that it is impossible to be completely grounded when you are one of the most famous people on the planet. They have no live-in staff at the family home, Adelaide Cottage, Windsor, but Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, play a key role helping out.

The future king & queen: So, what sort of monarchy would King William and Queen Catherine lead? The answer is one in which you might see the king on the school run, according to one well-placed source. “He’ll be asking, if [the children] are still young when I take on the big job, how do I maintain that privacy? I’m pretty sure that they won’t move into BP [Buckingham Palace]. You can’t imagine him saying, ‘Great, let’s move back to central London.’”

William is calling the shots: In the next reign, we could have a more informal, school-run king who is more at home in the football stands than wearing a top hat at Ascot, and a queen who is happiest when she’s spending time in nature. A source says, “William has played a very smart hand. He has chosen it. He has shaped it as he wanted to. He was thinking about this early because he didn’t want to drift and then find that he hadn’t had a say in it. It’s one of the defining qualities of the man.”

[From The Times]

William just had to sign his work on Sentebale – after all, it was William’s ally Iain Rawlinson who was at the scene of the crime, doing William’s bidding. And Harry really struck a nerve with William, didn’t he? “How ironic that Harry is the one that feels trapped. What does he do? He doesn’t seem to have any more idea of what to do with himself now than when he left.” William needs to stop stalking his brother’s movements and trying to copy everything Harry does, my god. As for the Kate section… I can’t believe I’m being put in the position of defending Prince Philip, but here goes – Philip was a groundbreaking consort who radically changed the role and the monarchy itself. He worked constantly, he founded charities and awards schemes to improve society, and he wasn’t just a supportive spouse in the corner, waiting to manage his wife’s emotions. Anyway, this whole thing is rather macabre given Charles is still around.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.