Prince William has “more to learn” before he is ready to be King, a royal commentator has claimed.
The Prince of Wales celebrated his 41st birthday on June 21 this week with Westminster Abbey ringing its bells to mark the future King’s special day.
In his first interview since taking the title that King Charles held for five decades, William told the Times that he has made ending homelessness his lifelong ambition.
The Prince of Wales has been preparing to become King his entire life. As Prince Harry claims in his memoir, King Charles, Princess Diana, the Duke of Edinburgh and “even Granny” would use the “shorthand” phrase “heir and the spare”.
But Pauline Maclaran, professor of marketing and consumer research at Royal Holloway University, said she does not believe the father-of-three is quite the finished article just yet.
The author of the 2015 book Royal Fever: The British Monarchy in Consumer Culture told Express.co.uk that she believes that the next stage in the heir’s life is fundamental to his development.
She said: “I think many people already see him as ready to be King but in my view, he has more to learn in his quest to modernise the monarchy.
“This period where he is Prince of Wales will teach him a lot in this respect about what he can do for positive change without ruining the intrinsic mystique of the monarchy that is a core reason why people are drawn to them.”
A survey carried out by Lord Michael Ashcroft ahead of the Coronation revealed that William is the most popular royal, beating both his father and wife.
According to Professor Maclaran his popularity over his father can be explained by the fact that he is more charismatic and confident when in public than the King, having inherited his late mother’s charm.
She continued: “William displays more confidence and charisma than his father. Whereas Charles can sometimes appear uncertain or even reluctant in stepping into the limelight, William seems more outgoing and relaxed about the public nature of his position.
“William has a lot of charisma and the ability to reach out to people. He has a lot of his mother’s charm in this respect and this very much helps his popularity.”
Even before he began devoting his full attention to royal duties in 2013, William has, among other things, championed both the environment and advocated for the homeless.
His first patronage was Centrepoint in 2005, the homeless charity he was taken to by Princess Diana.
More recently, in 2020, William launched the Earthshot Prize, which was formally established as an independent charity, of which the Prince is President, last year.
Professor Maclaran said: “William has really developed over the years in terms of his confidence and poise. We have also seen him taking on more leadership roles as, for example, the Earthshot Awards for innovative solutions to environmental problems.”
In the years to come, Professor Maclaran believes William will modernise the Monarchy more than his father has while demonstrating that the Monarchy has a role to play by fighting for the likes of the environment and the homeless.
She continued: “William is very determined to make the Monarchy more relevant and fit for purpose in the 21st century. I think we will see him modernise more than his father and attempt to make the monarchy have a more positive value in the eyes of its public, particularly in terms of the younger demographic.
“Causes like Earthshot and his more recent campaign on homelessness all feed into this agenda of trying to use the Monarchy’s influence to bring about positive environmental and social change.”
