Prince William and many Palace staff see King Charles as a “transitional” monarch to get from Queen Elizabeth’s era to the Prince of Wales’s own reign, according to Omid Scobie.
The royal biographer’s new book Endgame alleges a brewing tension between King Charles and Prince William – he even claimed the King gloated over William and Princess Kate’s disastrous 2022 Caribbean tour.
Meanwhile, William’s comments after that tour that once monarch he would do things differently were seen as “disrespectful” by a source close to Charles, Scobie claimed.
Scobie said: “We’re sort of entering this very long and cold winter, where we have this transitional monarch who potentially could be around for a couple of decades and alongside that, no real big-ticket, landmark moments on the calendar for the Royal Family.
He pointed out that in the near future, there wouldn’t be any jubilees, royal marriages or births and questioned how the Royal Family would navigate the period. He claimed that without distractions the public’s focus would turn to the work the Firm was doing and the impact it has.
READ MORE: Omid Scobie turns against Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for not pursuing ‘racist royal’
However, the royal expert does not doubt Prince William’s ability to take over from his father when the time comes.
Speaking to Newsweek, he said: “William has universal support throughout the institution. There’s a great deal of excitement and belief in him as a very capable modern monarch, with Charles, you know, even from the kind of the semiofficial briefings that we see in the papers—he’s the caretaker king.
“People refer to him to me as like the bridge to a true successor. And before he took the throne, there [were] a number of people around the Queen and or within Buckingham Palace that felt that he just didn’t have the kind of moxie or the minerals to do the job.”
“Even that alone creates a very interesting dynamic when he truly should be and is the number one. Will we reach a point where it will be the literal stepping on toes rather than kind of chomping at the bit?”
The explosive book came out earlier this week amid some controversy. In the Dutch version of the book, the so-called royal racist was named, although it’s unclear whether this was due to a mistranslation, intentionally included or a major error.
Before his book Endgame hit the shelves on Tuesday, author Scobie took to X (formerly Twitter) last week. He urged his followers: “Whether you like my work or loathe it, all I ask is that if you are reading coverage about what’s supposedly inside #ENDGAME, please also read the book itself.
“Incorrect and bad translations, snippets without context, leaks etc. do not tell the full or accurate story. Thank you.”
