CHARLES THE SHADOW KING
As the Prince takes the reins from an increasingly retiring Queen, a delicate problem: can he persuade a reluctant Wills to do HIS duty?
THERE’S a spirit of rare animation coursing through the dull, dimly lit Royal offices behind the ancient walls of St James’s Palace.
Most eyes are elsewhere, of course – on the Queen, her achievement in becoming our longestreigning monarch and the preparations for her 90th birthday next June.
Yet the coming year will give her eldest son something of his own to celebrate, something that aides say means more to Prince Charles that anything he has achieved in public life.
Next year is the 40th birthday of The Prince’s Trust, one of the most important and successful charities in the country. And enthusiastic plans to mark the occasion are well under way. There will be a lunch at Buckingham Palace, a garden party hosted by the Queen and an ITV documentary on the trust presented by Ant and Dec.
Yet as the staff at St James’s scramble to finalise the guest lists and menus, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that a select group of courtiers are quietly at work on a project of much greater importance, one the television cameras will never see.
It is understood their task is to ‘future-proof’ the trust, devising committees and new procedures that will allow it to run with more autonomy. In fact, I understand that several of Charles’s leading charities have received letters from the Prince in recent weeks, warning them that they must manage with less of his personal attention than in the past.
The aides are planning for a time when Charles is far too busy for any of these organisations, even for The Prince’s Trust – the time when he is King in all but name. And it may not be far away.
Step by careful step, Buckingham Palace and Clarence House are shifting the centre of Royal gravity, moving the Prince of Wales centre stage alongside his mother in a kind of double act, almost unnoticed by the public. And as the Queen continues to advance in years, so his schedule of openings, investitures and longhaul flights will grow.
Charles is already being called the Shadow King, with Camilla ‘the Queen in Waiting’.
For Charles, one of nature’s workaholics, it must be a huge relief to be so immersed in monarchical duties after all this time. Yet – as we shall later see – the future of his charities and his busier schedule are also a source of personal concern and not a little hurt as a long-running tension with William bursts into the open.
It is no secret that, at 89, the Queen is beginning to feel her age. A source close to the Royal Family says: ‘She is leaning more on Charles. She won’t let on, but her knees are giving her trouble and when events are planned, the first thing her aides check is whether stairs are involved.
‘If you watch her these days, you see her take an arm to lean on or hold on to a bannister. She is slower and she complains a little about her back or her knees playing up.’
Increasingly, then, it is the Prince of Wales who dispenses honours, conducts investitures and goes on the lion’s share of long-haul flights. He chairs the Privy Council, sits in the wings at the State Opening of Parliament and meets Government Ministers as well as visiting foreign and Commonwealth representatives.
This year, the Prince will undertake more than 650 engagements and visit 14 countries. He will attend this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in the Queen’s place and in November will visit New Zealand and Australia with the Duchess of Cornwall. A royal source says: ‘At his age, he could be pulling back, but he has actually increased his workload.’
Other changes are less obvious, but their meaning is clear.
As revealed in this newspaper, Charles is increasingly taking on part of the running of the family estate at Sandringham, a task once the sole responsibility of Prince Philip.
Aides are also said to be studying the Regency Act, although it is a source of disquiet for Prince Charles, who does not want to consider planning for his mother’s ill health or demise. Buckingham Palace denies there is a plan for Charles to become a Regent, but palace staff are duty-bound to prepare for every eventuality.
Even the Duchess of Cornwall has been stepping into position for what some have described as ‘Queen training’ – a phrase she would hate to hear. In 2013, Camilla joined the Queen on a visit to a horse-riding school and, more recently, stood alongside her in the VE Day commemorations.
Hushed conversations are under way as to whether the Duchess of Cornwall would be known as ‘Queen’ or ‘Princess Consort’ when Charles
‘At 89, the Queen is leaning more on Charles’
becomes King. This new life is not naturally to her taste, yet she has fully embraced it, using her warmth and engaging personality to great effect. Charles, meanwhile, works around the clock.
‘He is often at his desk until midnight writing letters and making notes and he derives great pleasure from the fact he feels he is making a difference,’ the source continues.
This leaves a huge dilemma, with insiders saying Charles’s new brief has created a gap in the workings of the monarchy. William, who works as a full-time air ambulance helicopter pilot, undertook just 216 engagements last year. And who will continue Charles’s charitable work?
The answer at the moment, it seems, is not his elder son.
The Mail on Sunday has learned that Charles held discussions some months ago with Prince William about whether he would take over as head of the trust – but William indicated he would rather not. The discussions are thought to be a source of private distress to Charles, who fears his legacy may be abandoned if it is not kept within the family. Charles established the trust with the £7,500 severance pay he received when he left the Royal Navy in 1976.
It has helped transform the lives of more than a million young people, among them Idris Elba, the Golden Globe-winning actor, who said the trust’s £1,500 grant allowed him to attend drama school.
Today, the trust generates an annual turnover of £72million.
Martina Millburn, chief executive of The Prince’s Trust, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The Prince is still very committed and involved. He’s a workaholic and somehow he fits everything in. For the moment, he remains the president.’
She added: ‘If the Duke of Cambridge or Prince Harry take it over then it would be a family matter and that’s to be discussed.
‘Princes William and Harry have been very involved with the trust over the years. They have been very supportive.’
Charles – who once described his charity work as a mission to ‘put the Great back into Great Britain’ – is said to have reached an impasse with William and the Duchess of Cambridge, who have made it clear they want to concentrate on their own charitable foundation.
‘William has said that he has been asked to take on the trust, but he has mixed feelings about it,’ a source said. ‘He has his own charitable foundation and he wants to make his own mark. If he takes on his father’s legacy, then it means he can’t create his own. William is very definite about wanting to do his own thing.
‘Charles to a degree has to accept that much of his increased workload is down to his own doing.
‘He was the one behind wanting to streamline the family and he upset his siblings when he made it clear they would not be on the balcony at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
‘I think he had hoped his sons would take on more and help him out, but William and Harry are pursuing their own interests.’
William is thought to have told his father he wants to carry on with a ‘normal’ life for as long as possible.
The tension has been there for some time. In 2006, to mark the 30th anniversary of The Prince’s Trust, Charles gave an interview to Trevor McDonald in which he was asked if William was impressed by his work with the trust. ‘I think, as so often happens... they can’t believe their fathers do anything at all,’ Charles said. ‘I just hope that, bit by bit, he may take an interest in some of these things.’
Now, though, Charles’s packed diary has forced the issue to the surface. Some members of the Royal Family feel the Princes have had enough freedom and now, in their 30s, should buckle down to their Royal roles.
William and Kate were notable by their absence at the VJ Day commemorations this summer.
William has made some concessions. Last year, he undertook a specialised ten-week agricultural course at Cambridge University designed to teach him how to manage the Duchy of Cornwall, the 200 square mile private estate that earns £20million a year and will fall to him when Charles becomes King.
But William and Harry have been adamant about going their own way – and even went to the lengths of moving their staff from offices they shared with their father at St James’s Palace to new rooms at Kensington Palace.
One palace insider said: ‘William wants to avoid being a “letterhead” on a page and just take on charities that he is passionate about. This is a job with no retirement date so there’s no rush to jump into things. It’s more important to the Duke that he grows a sustainable charitable foundation of his own.’
Still in its infancy, the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry raised £4 million last year and, like The Prince’s Trust, concentrates on disadvantaged young people while also focusing on helping military veterans and conservation work.
Dame Julia Cleverdon, vice-president of Charles’s Business In The Community and special adviser to the Prince’s charities, has been called in to advise the charities on how they will operate when Charles is no longer in charge.
Charles’s aides know the future of The Prince’s Trust must be decided before Charles becomes King.
One board member said: ‘The Trust operates beautifully. It’s an amazing fundraising giant with very loyal supporters but the future is something being talked about.
‘I think there’s an expectation that when Charles becomes King, the Trust will step up with him and could become The King’s Trust if William and Harry decide they don’t want to take it on.’
It was thought that when Charles took on more of his mother’s role, his sons would step in to take over some of his work. Yet now that looks less certain.
‘Since his childhood, Charles has known that he will succeed the Queen,’ said a member of the Royal circle. ‘But he’s in the strange position now of having two sons, but wondering who will continue his legacy.’
‘William wants to make his own mark’