William Acted Like He Had a ‘Free Pass’ on Royal Duties — and It 'Frustrated' Staff, Says Biographer
A royal insider claims Prince William’s laid-back approach to duties left aides frustrated, with his low engagement numbers becoming a quiet embarrassment behind palace doors.
Prince William is next in line to be the King, and he has proved more than enough times that he is ready for the role. But he was not always as responsible and often worried people around him. Royal expert Russell Myers wrote in his book, William and Catherine: The Monarchy's New Era: The Inside Story, that William went through a bit of a figuring-it-out phase within the royal family. After stepping away from his RAF search and rescue pilot job in 2013, he had a hard time deciding what direction to take next.
Myers mentioned in his book that palace courtiers tried to frame it as Prince William entering a “transitional year,” while quietly making it clear he would not actually be taking on more royal duties. He further explained, “But, behind the scenes, William's attitude had begun to frustrate his staff, with senior aides challenging him over the risk that he might be seen as lazy, given The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were still carrying out royal duties into their tenth decade.”
While speaking to a former royal aide, Myers found out that whenever staff gently suggested he take on more duties or specific engagements, Prince William would usually push back right away. The source explained, “William seemed to have the attitude that his grandmother had given him a free pass to take his time in deciding what he wanted to do, which was not the reading of the situation from anyone else involved in trying to map out his affairs.” Apparently, everyone around him was more worried about William’s future than William himself.
According to the aide, the situation became especially awkward when the royal family’s annual engagement numbers were released at the end of each year. “When the annual list of engagements completed by members of the family would be published at the end of the year, it was pretty embarrassing, but it didn't seem to affect him one bit,” the former staff member explained.
Furthermore, Myers also mentioned in his new book that Prince William was ‘determined to break the cycle of misery’ within the royal family. He went on to say that the Prince did not want to repeat the same mistakes made by his own parents. Myers revealed, “The day after [King Charles's] extraordinarily candid interview with broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby on June 29, 1994, where for the first time he admitted his infidelity with Camilla, Diana raced to comfort the 12-year-old William.”
Myers explained that Prince William had spent years agonizing over whether he was making choices that would make his mother proud. During an interview with the BBC, Diana said, “I went to the school and put it to William, particularly, that if you find someone you love in life, you must hang on to it and look after it, and if you were lucky enough to find someone who loved you, then you must protect it.” Her words remained at the forefront of William’s mind.
