Once upon a time, not so long ago, the sight of his son rubbing shoulders with more world leaders than the monarch would have induced a wave of anxiety.
For years, those close to the King and his heir experienced the sensitivities as William and Kate’s profile sometimes overshadowed that of Charles and Camilla. Royal insiders have spoken of Charles’s “green-eyed monster” displays of frustration when the younger couple received more prominent media coverage.
William’s friends observe that the prince, who regularly beats his father in polls charting the royal family’s popularity, has always been conscious of not “queering his father’s pitch”.
But something has changed. It was visible in the royal choreography on the beaches of Normandy last week, where William attended two high-profile events marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Without the Princess of Wales by his side, because she is still undergoing preventive chemotherapy treatment, William was front and centre at the historic commemorations.
William met Biden and other world leaders at the commemorative ceremony at Omaha Beach marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day
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On Friday morning he joined Justin Trudeau and Gabriel Attal, the Canadian and French prime ministers, at Juno beach for a ceremony honouring veterans. In the afternoon he took his place next to three presidents — Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky — together with more than 25 heads of state for the international ceremony at Omaha beach.
The King, 75, is mindful that he is still receiving cancer treatment and “adapting” his programme accordingly. He and the Queen attended the Royal British Legion’s ceremony at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer on Friday morning alongside Macron and his wife, Brigitte. Charles flew home later in the day, content to let his heir deputise for him at the main event.
A friend of the King says that in recent years Charles’s tendency to consult William on tricky family issues involving the Duke of York and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has helped to ease the anxieties of the past and boost their personal and working relationships.
William stood in for his father at the D-Day anniversary international ceremony, alongside Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, left, Joe Biden, the US president and Emmanuel Macron, the president of France
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“If there was ever a green-eyed monster or a sense of rivalry between the two, that is a chapter of the past,” the friend said. “The King sees his son as a useful ally on family matters and increasingly in discharging the duties of nation and state. When you are monarch, you’re not counting the column inches. You’re thinking about performing your role for your country, not just as King Charles but as ‘the family’.”
William was in his element in Normandy, detouring from his tightly controlled schedule for a surprise stop in the town of Arromanches to meet British veterans who had gathered there. Pinned to his suit were medals and decorations, including his Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee medals, and Coronation medal.
But it was his striped Army Air Corps tie that carried a subtle but significant message, a nod to the military role handed from father to son last month, when William took over from Charles as the colonel-in-chief of the AAC, which trained Prince Harry as an Apache helicopter pilot.
To many royal watchers, Harry’s absence from D-Day events last week — where, had he still been a working royal, he would surely have played a significant role — only highlights the importance of the strengthening bond between Charles and William.
Charles with Macron at the British Normandy Memorial on June 6
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A source close to William said: “He very much wants to support his father. That isn’t something new, but of course with everything the King is going through with his treatment, he will continue to support him as much as he can.”
The global platform that events in Normandy provided was also a diplomatic boost for William, 41, who travelled to France with his new private secretary, the former diplomat Ian Patrick. The prince, whose annual environmental prize is held in different locations overseas, continues to want to burnish his credentials as an international statesman. This year’s Earthshot event will be in Cape Town in November. “It is important for him, both for his current role and his future role as head of state,” an aide said.
William greeted the veterans at the commemorative events on June 6
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On Friday afternoon, after meeting and greeting presidents, prime ministers, kings and queens, who networked among themselves while waiting for Biden and Macron to arrive, William took himself off to speak to some more war heroes. “He knew why he was there and he was there for the veterans,” an aide said.
Charles and William will increasingly share the royal spotlight in a series of joint engagements over the coming weeks. On Saturday, at the King’s birthday parade, Trooping the Colour, Charles will not ride in the procession, as he has done previously, in another slight change to tradition as he continues with his recovery.
Instead, he will review the troops at Horse Guards Parade seated in an Ascot landau carriage, with William riding behind his father’s carriage alongside the Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh.
The final rehearsal for the parade, known as the Colonel’s Review, took place in London on Saturday morning. They rehearsed at Horse Guards Parade in front of an audience of 8,000 after receiving a letter from the Princess of Wales, their colonel, apologising for her absence and wishing them luck.
The letter said: “I wanted to write to you to let you know how proud I am of the entire regiment ahead of the Colonel’s Review and Trooping the Colour.
“Being your colonel remains an honour and I am very sorry that I’m unable to take the salute at this year’s Colonel’s Review. Please pass on my apologies to the whole regiment, I do hope that I am able to represent you all once again very soon.”
Kate was represented at the review by General James Bucknall, who acted as the chief inspecting officer of the day.
The Prince of Wales will also join his father at the garter service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, on June 17 and again for a day’s racing at Royal Ascot later that week. He will also attend the state banquet at Buckingham Palace on June 25 during the Japanese state visit.
In early July, William will head to Scotland during Holyrood week, when he will join the King and Queen for a service at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, marking the Duke of Edinburgh’s appointment to the order of the thistle, Scotland’s highest royal honour, recognising those who have contributed to national life.
The King left Normandy on Friday before the main international event to pace himself as he recovers from cancer. A friend of his observed: “The King did the heavy lifting in the morning, his heir was there to honour veterans later in his absence. Those decisions are very carefully made, they’re not done without consideration about the optics.”
In his speech, Charles invoked the memory of George VI: “United, they fought together for what my grandfather … described as ‘a world in which goodness and honour may be the foundation of the life of men in every land’.”
Having William as his stand-in for part of the event shows that Charles also has an eye on the future.