Prince William Will Be Very Concerned For His Uncle Andrew's Mental Well-being: Expert
Following Andrew's arrest, William appeared visibly stressed as he attended the BAFTAs alongside his wife, Kate Middleton.
Prince William seems to be in a troubling state on a personal level, as his disgraced uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested last week. He appeared visibly stressed as he attended the BAFTAs alongside his wife, Kate Middleton. The prince admitted he wasn’t in “a very calm state” when asked if he had watched the award-winning movie, Hamnet. While the royal couple has not directly commented on Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest at Sandringham, on his 66th birthday, his candid remark did offer a rare insight into the pressure building up behind the palace walls.
According to Hello!, royal expert Phil Dampier weighed in on the aftermath and revealed William’s concern goes quite far and carries implications of how his rule will be defined. He said, “It's often said that William is very much the driving force, or certainly encouraging the King to act decisively, where Andrew has been concerned behind the scenes. First of all, saying he should have been stripped of his titles and chucked out of Royal Lodge. But I think on a human level, he will be very concerned for his uncle's mental well-being.” Dampier elaborated, “He may feel that he's done wrong and brought it on himself, but he will still be mindful of the effect all this is having on the King and his health. William's taken a great interest in mental health, as shown by his radio appearance the other day. He's got a relationship with his uncle, and he's always got on well with Beatrice and Eugenie. He will be hoping by the time he comes to the throne, this Andrew thing will have been resolved.”
The delicate dance of being compassionate as well as decisive is increasingly viewed as one of the key features of William’s future kingship. Dampier also believes that when it comes to ruling, he would likely take after his late mother, Princess Diana, as he is “warm and approachable” in public settings. Dampier shared, “He interacts with people very well, I think he gets that from his mother," Phil said. "She was the one who started the touchy-feely approach of getting down with the public. Having said all that, he's extremely protective of his family. He's quite ruthless and strong, especially with the media running stories about his family.” He added, “I think William will attempt to send out messages and put down markers quite early on in his reign as to how he's going to do things, whether he sweeps away a lot of traditions, or whether he hopefully doesn't overdo that.”
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede spoke along the same lines while putting emphasis on how William is good at balancing his emotions. He mentioned to the outlet, “I think William is showing he's a human being. His family is being torn apart from the inside, and the whole world has watched it. I think we will see him as a ruler who is as honest and transparent as possible and as relatable too.” The scandal the royal family is caught in will ultimately depict William’s instinct to modernize the monarchy, but he’ll also adhere to its core structure. Many observers believe this contrast will help distinguish his reign from King Charles’.
Publicly, William and Middleton have been in support of King Charles’ claim, as he expressed “deep concern” and firmly revealed, “Let me be clear: the law must take its course.” Previously, before Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, the couple had revealed they were “deeply concerned” as alarming details came out about the former prince after the latest batch of the Epstein files was released. As per the same outlet, one of William’s close friends had revealed, “Everyone knows William's feelings about his uncle. He's never had a close relationship with him.” Even royal biographer Andrew Lownie seems to agree with this, as he had previously stated that William has a “more ruthless” approach when it comes to matters concerning Mountbatten-Windsor. He said on A Right Royal podcast, “I don't know, I mean, this is some way off, I hope. So I just don't know. But he is certainly much more ruthless in dealing with Andrew, and of course, as the precedent, the Duke of Windsor attended neither the wedding of the Queen [Elizabeth II] nor the [1953] coronation."
