But according to journalist Richard Kay, who was also a close friend and confidante of the late Princess of Wales, Diana had other plans for him when he was younger, and it was all down to Prince William’s “shy” nature. The Prince of Wales may now exude confident and grandeur, but according to Mr Kay, that wasn’t always the case.
He told the Daily Mail’s Palace Confidential podcast: “I think William has been a bit of a surprise. He was a shy young man.
“Certainly, when his mother was still alive, she would tell me that she never really thought that William wanted the ‘top job,’ as she called it. The idea that he would one day wear the crown.”
“She, in her mind, was preparing the way for the possibility that it would be Harry who succeeded his father.
“She had a nickname for Harry: She used to call him ‘Good King Harry’ — a throwback to medieval days.”
But Mr Kay then took aim at the Duke and said “we are all rather grateful” that things “haven’t worked out” like that.
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He added: “The consensus was ‘we got the right one.’ And, I think we got the right one in William as Prince of Wales.”
He said of William: “What I quite like about him is that he is coming up with some quite different ways to approach royalty.
“He recognises that some of the aspects of modern monarchy are antediluvian and don’t resonate well with the modern public, and I think he is aware that he’s going to have to make some big changes to ensure its survival.”