King Charles and Prince William are ‘like many fathers and sons’ and refuse to ‘admit’ to this one very relatable thing

As royals, their relationship may be unique but they're like any other father and son when it comes down to it

King Charles and Prince William
(Image credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage and Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images/Future)

A royal expert has revealed that King Charles III and Prince William are ‘like many fathers and sons’ in the way they refuse to ‘admit’ to this one very relatable thing that's holding them back from being 'united.'

It's easy to forget that the Royal Family are, well, a family. Sure, they have their business heads on as members of The Firm but, when it comes down to it, working with that number of family members in such close quarters must be a difficult task. 

For Prince William, who sits second in the royal line of succession making him the direct heir to the throne, the only boss he has is his father, the King. That sounds like a tricky dynamic to live in and, according to one royal expert, there's one relatable thing neither father or son will admit to that's holding them back from having a stronger relationship, both personally and professionally. 

"Like many fathers and sons, I think William and Charles might be more alike than they're willing to admit!" royal commentator Amanda Matta told The List. "Just as Charles did for his decades-long tenure as Prince of Wales, William now shows similar signs of wanting more influence over Palace decision-making — and the direction the Monarchy, as a whole, takes into the future."

As many people may have noticed about their own family members, when two are too alike, there's always problems of some sort as they butt heads. This means that, while William and King Charles 'share quite a bit of common ground,' their likeness leaves them desperate to put their own 'personal stamp' on issues they could actually agree on. 

Matta explains, "Charles and William actually do share quite a bit of common ground, I think, especially when it comes to wanting to modernize the monarchy while still retaining a sense of continuity and tradition. On the whole, though, I think [William] recognises that his father will largely call the shots and we've recently seen a 'divide and conquer' approach from the Royals as a result."

By prioritising their differences to fight off the realisation that they're actually very similar, the expert says, King Charles and William are prioritising 'ownership' instead of realising the 'greater benefit' they could have as a team. 

"They could do an immense amount of good in those areas by joining forces — and give the public a glimpse of a united king and heir in the process," Matta said. "The current problem is that they each want to leave their own personal stamps on those issues; there has been no coordinated effort between father and son to tackle them together. 

"They could potentially bring greater benefit to all of their chosen causes as a united team, but instead choose to pursue different solutions over which they can each have ownership."

Keep up to date with more royal news such as Princess Charlotte's name is full of hidden tributes to Royal Family - did you notice them all? and Prince George is reportedly set to enrol at a secondary school who promise to produce ‘decent, ambitious’ and climate conscious pupils as well as Prince Harry vowed to never ‘enjoy’ family hobby again after Princess Diana’s death - but he’s taken it back up and it’s all thanks to his children.

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse
Royal News and Entertainment writer

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is royal news and entertainment writer for Goodto.com. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.