The British monarchy has always been about tradition and continuity, but with each new King or Queen, changes are also bound to come. King Charles III carries out a different strategy than his mother, Queen Elizabeth, and when Prince William takes the throne, he'll have the opportunity to make changes in his own way. As the Prince of Wales considers what his future will look like, one royal editor has pointed out that he's keen to veer away from "shaking some hands" in favor of making a real "difference."
Speaking on a new episode of True Royalty TV's The Royal Beat on Friday, May 23, Kate Mansey, royal editor for the Times, said a palace insider claims William has some big changes in store.
While discussing the prince's visit to Street Soccer Scotland this week, she said, "I think what's really interesting about this is, I wrote a profile about William recently, and someone very close to him was saying that this is a move away from these classic kinds of patronages, where you would go and support an existing charity, to actual projects."
The Prince of Wales demonstrated this during his trip to Edinburgh, announcing a new partnership with the soccer-based organization and the Royal Foundation "to foster health and wellbeing, reduce isolation, and strengthen social connections for thousands of local people of all ages."
Mansey continued that William "wants to come away and think, ‘I've made a difference there, there's money that's gone into that community centre or there's something that's happened because I went there,' rather than just showing up and shaking some hands."
The royal editor explained that this new approach from the Prince of Wales is indicative of how he wants to operate as a royal, calling it "quite a radical departure, really, from what The King does, or what the late Queen did."
The remarks follow comments in Mansey's piece for the Times from William Hague, who works with the Prince of Wales at the Royal Foundation's United for Wildlife initiative. "He’s not one for long meetings or going around the same thing again," Hague said of the prince. "I’ve often heard him say, 'There’s been too much talk about that. We need to see some action.'"
Insiders noted that the future King isn't big on "ribbon-cutting representation" from the Royal Family, which was more Queen Elizabeth's style. Instead, he wants to see real change—and as his latest partnership demonstrates, that doesn't need to wait until he becomes King.
