Royal author Robert Jobson’s authoritative new book on the Windsors offers piercing insights into members of the family. Yesterday, he revealed the truth about Andrew’s self-indulgence. Today, in part three of our exclusive serialisation, he looks at the tensions between King Charles and Prince William…
Since making his cancer diagnosis public, the King has been reduced to tears – not by his plight, but by the thousands of warm letters he has received.
Some were cards, clearly made by children and covered in glitter or accompanying a get-well gift of Smarties.
After years of opprobrium from those who adored his late wife Diana, Charles was simply overwhelmed to learn that so many cared and wished him well.
Indeed, his longer-serving staff have detected a change in their employer, whom they feel could occasionally seem rather cold. He’s now become more emotional, they say.
Not only that, but he’s changed some of the habits that once seemed set in stone – largely due to advice from Dr Michael Dixon, a seasoned NHS GP and advocate of complementary medicine who was appointed head of the Royal Medical Household after Queen Elizabeth’s death. William, too, has urged his father to slow down and listen to his medical team.
King Charles reads cards and messages sent by well-wishers following his cancer diagnosis
So Charles now takes regular afternoon naps. And he’s started having lunch again – often spinach soup – after skipping the meal for most of his life.
Before being diagnosed with cancer, he’d been typically stoical about his mounting levels of pain. Months before, his condition had worsened so dramatically, says a senior royal aide, that a doctor was summoned.
The King was given morphine (one of the strongest painkillers available), fitted with a catheter and taken to Aberdeen Hospital.
The cancer, however, was not discovered until a few months later, in January last year, while doctors were in the process of treating the King for an enlarged prostate. A few weeks down the line, it was announced that the Princess of Wales was also suffering from an unnamed cancer. Having two leading members of the Royal Family struck down at once seemed a malign twist of fate – and Prince William was shaken to the core.
As the year progressed, both he and Catherine became more religious. Never known as a regular worshipper, William now attends church more frequently than in the past, though as privately as possible.
Last year, he also told his father that he wanted to cut his own official royal engagements back to ten for the rest of 2024. But the King refused his request.
‘Think again,’ he urged.
Although Charles often jokes with friends about reaching that ‘worryingly decrepit stage’ of life, he has continued to work hard while continuing his cancer treatment. Meanwhile, Queen Camilla has stepped up the number of her engagements, emerging as a steady force during a time of royal uncertainty.
Moreover, her warm and humorous approach to life has undoubtedly been a boon for the ailing King. Occasionally, however, her sense of humour strays into slightly questionable territory.
In September 2024, in a polished video directed by Will Warr, Catherine revealed that she had completed chemotherapy and hoped to remain cancer-free.
The footage showed the Wales family affectionately enjoying time together in Norfolk, on the beach and in the woods, and many found it moving.
Queen Camilla’s reaction? She was deeply relieved, of course, at Catherine’s recovery.
Prince William and his father generally work well together. The King happily consults him, and largely trusts him to do what is right
But according to a senior Household source, she also joked with friends – very much tongue-in-cheek – that the video was ‘like a shampoo commercial’.
These days, William and his father generally work well together. The King happily consults him, and largely trusts him to do what is right.
But there is often an underlying tension between them. It doesn’t help that both have a fiery temper that’s not always held in check. Working for Charles, some staff say, can be like ‘treading on eggshells’.
They point to the time Charles caught Covid – for the second time – in February 2022. Then still the Prince of Wales, he was at Clarence House, preparing to head to Highgrove for the weekend, when the two dreaded blue lines appeared.
But when he was told he couldn’t travel to his country retreat, he was incandescent. Frustrated, he even threatened to drive himself down the M4. Alarmed royal aides, fearing a breach of strict nation-wide rules, decided they had to act to prevent a possible calamity – so they hid his car keys.
Eventually, Charles cooled off and stayed put in London, sticking to the government guidelines until he was symptom-free.
As for William, Palace sources recall all too well an incident when the prince was over-assertive with his father – over a matter that William had completely misinterpreted.
Even senior aides are known to tread lightly around the prince, mindful of his mood swings before attempting to raise sensitive issues.
William may always appear to be composed in public, but insiders describe him as occasionally ‘difficult to handle’.
According to close sources, the King believes William is sometimes hasty and too quick to dismiss sage, well-meaning advice.
A case in point was when tensions flared in 2014 over William’s proposal to destroy the Royal Collection’s 1,200 ivory artifacts, including Queen Victoria’s 1851 Indian throne, as a bold stand against the illegal ivory trade.
Charles rejected the move as ‘naive’, arguing that the cause could be championed without erasing history. In the end, he quietly removed ivory from display at Clarence House and Highgrove. As King, he has gone a step further – securing the collection’s ivory under legal protection.
Then, in early 2024, Charles was horrified to learn that William had flown his entire family in his helicopter, a habit that had already alarmed the late Queen. Had there been a fatal accident, Harry would have immediately become heir to the throne.
No one can prevent William from flying with his family if he wants to, but Charles wanted to drive his point home. So after his cancer diagnosis, he revisited the issue, instructing senior aide Sir Mike Stevens to obtain William’s written acknowledgement of the risks.
William refused, and his curt reply was sharp enough for Sir Mike to report it back to the King.
These are not trivial matters for a King who has always loathed confrontation. The best way, he has found, of dealing with his elder son’s occasional impetuousness or obstinacy is to delegate. What this means is that the monarch will often leave senior aides to raise tough work issues with William.
It has led to the prince clashing with the imperturbable Sir Clive Alderton, Charles’s loyal private secretary, as well as other senior aides, echoing Charles’s past tensions with the late Queen’s aide, Lord Geidt.
While Charles managed to ease Geidt out of his job, however, William has failed to unsettle Alderton, who is a seasoned diplomat. Consequently, the prince has reportedly become fixated on the senior courtier.
William and Catherine’s three children unquestionably come first. The couple feel their eldest, Prince George, must grow into his role without feeling crushed by the sheer weight of what lies ahead
Then there was that blip during Charles’s meticulously planned Coronation in 2023 when William turned up a few minutes late. The King was annoyed.
His son’s excuse was that he’d been busy filming a video for his social media about the big day.
Still, at least William had donned the correct ceremonial garments for the ceremony. As Charles knew, his son hadn’t wanted to wear them at all, but he’d conceded in the end for the King’s sake.
There has been no give at all on another clothing issue: the donning of a kilt. William refuses ever to wear one, despite holding various Scottish titles, including the Duke of Rothesay.
For Charles, wearing a kilt is more than merely a tradition; it’s a vital symbol of Scottish identity and of the crown his son will one day inherit.
‘The King has repeatedly urged him, yet William won’t budge,’ says a senior source. William has made it crystal-clear to his father and to courtiers – even to Queen Elizabeth in her later years – that he is not in the traditional royal mould. Instead, he has redrawn the line between duty and family, at least until it’s his turn to wear the crown.
For now, William and Catherine’s three children unquestionably come first. In particular, the couple feel strongly that their eldest, Prince George, must grow into his role without feeling crushed by the sheer weight of what lies ahead.
‘They want him to understand what’s ahead, but live as a boy first,’ says a Palace insider. ‘Balance now will make him strong when his time comes.’
Unlike many upper-class children, George was not sent away at an early age to board at prep school; instead, his parents have taken turns delivering and collecting him from Lambrook School in Bracknell, Berkshire.
As for Catherine, her priorities were set as soon as she had her first child.
A former royal aide puts it simply: ‘She supports William and together they raise their children their way. They are their priority. Of course, her public duties matter, but family matters more.’
Some sneer, calling Catherine’s approach terribly quaint and traditional. But she calls it essential. Along with doing school runs, she watches the plays and cheers at sports days – just as her own parents did when she was a schoolgirl. ‘She wants her children to feel that same security,’ said another source.
Of course, both William and Catherine also take their royal duties very seriously. To their credit, they channel the same quiet strength of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip – but with a fresher, more relatable touch.
The prince connects through social media, podcasts and celebrity interviews; he speaks openly about family life; unwinds with video games; and he (and George) support Aston Villa FC with passion. The family have no live-in staff.
Yet William has also drawn criticism – not least for his five-year plan to tackle homelessness. Detractors pointed to the irony of the cause being fronted by a royal prince with three homes and a £25million annual income from the Duchy of Cornwall.
The national charity Crisis estimates that £1.9billion could end homelessness – so a large personal contribution from William would definitely have an impact.
The prince and his family have just moved into their third home – eight-bedroomed Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park. Sources close to William say this will be his ‘forever home’ even after he becomes King.
Will Windsor Castle merely become a place for ceremonials?
Already King Charles uses Buckingham Palace as his office rather than his home, so the two most symbolic homes of the British monarch are likely to be deserted.
And why, some have questioned, didn’t William take part in the 80th VJ Day commemorations – unlike his father, who had every excuse to stay away due to his continuing treatment for cancer?
If the prince continues down this path, the Crown may become increasingly irrelevant under his reign. After all, as the late Queen once wisely pointed out, she had to be seen to be believed.
‘The King has repeatedly urged him, yet William won’t budge,’ says a senior source. William has made it crystal-clear to his father and to courtiers he is not in the traditional royal mould
William’s drive is for a leaner monarchy than his father’s, aiming for just 65 staff in total on his payroll after he becomes King. This has unsettled senior royal aides, who feel he’s not being at all realistic.
They note that he often supplements his own staff by relying on his father’s household, adding to their workload.
What’s more, aides say, he did the same when the late Queen was alive. Figures for the number of staff currently on the King’s payroll are not publicly available. But given that, in 2022, the then Prince Charles already had 101 full-time staff, he will have far more now as King. So how, say the aides, can the monarchy be expected to work with only 65?
The King may well share their doubts, but knows it’s often pointless to argue with his headstrong elder son.
For the rest of Charles’s reign, his hope is to inspire, not divide. And senior aides hope that he’ll be around for a long time yet, ably bridging his mother’s legacy and William’s future reign.
Ardent love for the late Diana
Who can forget the 1981 engagement interview of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer? When asked if they were in love, she replied: ‘Of course’ – only for her fiancé to add: ‘Whatever “in love” means.’
This has been taken by many to suggest that the prince never really loved his first wife. Charles, however, would certainly take issue with that.
When Diana was killed in Paris, Charles was devastated, and not simply for the sake of his sons
When Diana was killed in Paris, he was devastated, and not simply for the sake of his sons. He sought solace with a familiar face: the Queen Mother’s long-time servant and confidant, William ‘Billy’ Tallon, whom he’d known since he was a boy.
Turning up at Gate Lodge, where Billy lived in the grounds of Clarence House, he opened his heart. As Tallon told me later – and a second source confirmed – Charles confided: ‘You know, we were very much in love in the early days.’
Song and dance at the Coronation
At a special concert by royal appointment – televised live from the grounds of Windsor Castle on the day after King Charles’s Coronation – pop star Katy Perry belted out her hit songs Firework and Roar.
Considering her behaviour the night before, the King would have been forgiven for thinking the titles were entirely appropriate.
He’d invited both Katy Perry and the singer Lionel Richie to the Coronation itself – and invited the latter to spend the night afterwards at Windsor Castle.
But when Katy Perry came to hear about this, her team contacted the King’s officials and demanded to have the same treatment. The Palace bigwigs eventually relented, and she got her wish.
What she didn’t reveal was that her entourage caused a stir by partying late into the night and straying into restricted areas.
Adapted from The Windsor Legacy by Robert Jobson (John Blake, £22), to be published November 6. © Robert Jobson 2025. Pre-order a copy of The Windsor Legacy (9781789468762) for only £10 (RRP £22) from tgjonesonline.co.uk. Use code DM-WINDSOR10 at checkout. Offer valid until November 4, 2025. Excludes delivery. Online only. Terms apply.