The Difficult Relationship between Charles III and Prince William
The relationship between Charles III and Prince William has not always been idyllic. In fact, as royal biographer Katie Nicholl has recounted, William suffered a lot at 14 years old due to the constant quarrels of his parents and always sided with Lady Diana, so much so that he often shouted at his father: “I hate you, Dad. I hate you so much. Why do you always make Mom cry?” Relations with his father, after the death of his beloved mother, would even worsen.
The Turning Point for Charles and William
But time, as they say, fixes everything. And today, as Jennie Bond, former royal correspondent for the BBC, has explained, “father and son are closer than ever.” What brought them closer were “common interests, first and foremost the battle for the environment.” King Charles, as we know, was a “green” royal ahead of everyone else. His first environmental speech dates back more than 50 years ago and since then he has always put actions into words: he created a foundation for the environment, wrote books and organized awareness events, participated in a BBC documentary entitled The Earth in Balance, A Personal View of the Environment. He also recycles rainwater, has invested in renewable energies (pellet stove, solar panels, etc.) and only products from his Ducky Home Farm, where organic farming has been practiced since 1986, enter his kitchen. The sovereign’s last measure – he wants royal residences to be zero-emission by 2050 – concerns the temperature of the Buckingham Palace pool: Charles, to reduce energy consumption, has lowered the thermostat.
Charles and William’s Common Passion for the Environment
William followed in his father Charles’s footsteps, so much so that in 2020, with the support of Kate Middleton, he launched the Earthshot Prize, the first global award for the protection of the planet. And his father publicly praised him for this initiative: “I am very proud of my son William for his growing commitment to the environment.” King Charles, explains Jennie Bond, “is really proud of his eldest son.” And he couldn’t not be, considering that William is bringing the spotlight to the issues that matter most to him: “The common passion for the environment has brought father and son closer than ever.” Not surprisingly, during the speech given at Windsor before the coronation concert, William also remembered his father’s commitment to the environmental cause, “long before this issue became of common interest”. The prince’s tone, for a moment, became informal: “Dad, we are all proud of you. As my grandmother used to say, coronations are a declaration of our hopes for the future. I know she looks down on us with affection. And I know she would be a very proud mother.” King Charles, in the front row of the royal box, listened to his son’s words, struggling to hold back the tears.
