Prince William Had Weekly Mentoring With Queen In Order To Prepare For Role As Future King

Apr 22, 2021 by apost team

In the wake of Prince Philip’s death on April 9, the topic of royal succession has come up yet again. As BBC details, the late prince was never in line for the throne despite being married to Queen Elizabeth II, a direct descendant of King George VI. That’s because men cannot marry into the royal family and become monarchs. Philip, who was born into the royal families of Greece and Denmark, thus had no claim to the throne. However, after Philip married Elizabeth, the queen gave him the title of prince.

With that said, Philip’s firstborn son, Prince Charles, is a direct descendant of the royal family and is thus the next person in line for the throne. But given Charles’ age—he will turn 73 in November 2021—it would not be surprising to see Prince William, Charles' 38-year-old son, ascend to the role of king within his lifetime.

Of course, there is a massive responsibility that comes along with being a British monarch, and so the queen has taken special care to prepare William for his potential role as king. Katie Nicholl, a journalist and author who specializes in royal family affairs, recently spoke to the steps the queen has taken to prepare William for the throne since childhood. Suffice to say that William is likely well-prepared to take the reigns should he have to in the next couple of decades. The careful attention the queen has taken to prepare William has also led to a strong bond to form between the two, especially since Princess Diana’s death in 1997.

“The queen plays a very special dual role in William’s life,” said Nicholl, the author of books like “The Making of a Royal Romance,” in an April 2021 interview with OK! “She is his sovereign, but also a very loving grandmother who wants to prepare him for the future.”

According to OK!, the queen began to prepare William for the role of king from a young age, pulling him out of Eton College, his boarding school, every Sunday. At the time, the 13-year-old student would reportedly tell a white lie and say that he was going to the bathroom when, in fact, he would visit Elizabeth at Windsor Castle. OK! further explains that William hid his weekly sessions from his friends because of his modesty. He was preparing to become a king, after all!

“Afterwards, he would have one-on-one time with his grandmother to talk about whatever was on his mind,” Nicholl explained. “She was there for him to unload on — but those sessions were also an opportunity for her to mentor and teach him, as her grandfather, George V, did with her.”

“They became incredibly close and as his respect for her grew he began to embrace his destiny,” Nicholl added.

According to OK! and the royal expert, the queen has a strong bond with her grandchildren in part due to the aftermath of their mother’s death. When Princess Diana tragically died in a car crash in Paris, France in 1997, Elizabeth took special care to look after her grandchildren, William and Prince Harry.

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“That was one of the few times that the Queen has put family above duty,” Nicholl told OK!. “She made a decision to stay in Scotland, at Balmoral, and be there for William and Harry, rather than come back and address a nation in grief.

“She was heavily criticised, but she felt her grandsons needed her, and that meant a great deal to them.”

In a national address shortly after Diana’s death, the queen said, “I admired and respected her — for her energy and commitment to others, and especially for her devotion to her two boys. This week at Balmoral, we have all been trying to help William and Harry come to terms with the devastating loss that they and the rest of us have suffered.”

William’s bond with his grandmother only grew stronger as time went on, as Nicholl told OK! Beyond showing up for the major milestones in his life — his graduation from the University of St. Andrews and his parade at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst — she has also been supportive of his marriage to Kate Middleton.

“The queen liked her straight away and never had any snobbiness about her being a commoner,” Nicholl explained. “She realised there were huge advantages to William dating a regular middle-class girl from the Home Counties. It immediately made the royal family seem modern and relatable.”

In the likely event that William is crowned king, Middleton would be crowned queen consort in an official ceremony. As opposed to male consorts like Philip, the royal family permits queen consorts to be crowned, according to Insider.

What do you think of the queen’s relationship with William? What kind of king would William be? Let us know — and be sure to send this story to your friends and family members.