Is Prince William More Like His Father Prince Charles Than We Thought?

Prince William is more popular than his father, Prince Charles, for a multitude of reasons. He may be further down the line for the throne, but Prince William is younger, more handsome, and has a better public reputation than his dad, whose reputation never fully recovered after he cheated on Princess Diana.

While there are some advocates who would rather have the line of succession skip Prince Charles entirely, that’s a very unlikely scenario. But one thing all those Prince William advocates don’t realize is that he may have more in common with his father than they think.

Prince Charles isn’t perfect… but neither is Prince William. It turns out these two have a variety of similar traits that most people don’t notice.

They’re both committed to being good fathers

Prince Charles’ reputation suffered the biggest blow once it became public knowledge that he was carrying on an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Royal fans were fiercely loyal to Princess Diana, and even though it was later revealed that she was also unfaithful, it didn’t matter. Everyone seemed to be on her side.

Then Princess Diana died tragically in a car crash and everything got much worse. This could have been the defining moment when everyone decided to hate Prince Charles – but instead, the opposite thing happened.

When his ex-wife died, people were annoyed that Prince Charles didn’t seem properly distraught. But one thing they couldn’t deny was how he rushed to his children’s side and made it a point to help them recover from their loss.

“One of the hardest things for a parent to have to do is to tell your children that your other parent has died,” Harry said in a BBC documentary about Princess Diana’s death. “How you deal with that I don’t know. But, you know, he was there for us.”

Say what you want about Prince Charles – at least he realized what mattered. Some say it’s because his own father, Prince Philip, was so distant. But Prince William is more like his own dad, staying involved with his kids and their lives.

They both grew up knowing they’d be king

It’s impossible for us regular folks to comprehend the enormous pressure of knowing that you’ll one day rule a country. Both Prince Charles and Prince William spent their formative years as part of the royal family, and only they know the unique challenges brought on by that level of responsibility.

Prince Harry once famously said that no one even wants to be king – not really. “We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people,” he told Newsweek. “Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I don’t think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time.”

Did they both cheat?

So far, Kensington Palace has refused to comment on those Rose Hanbury/Prince William cheating rumors. But if there is any validity to those claims, then it will prove that Prince William and Prince Charles have one more thing in common – infidelity.

Skeptics point out that the odds of Prince William cheating on Kate Middleton are slim because he’s so opposed to cheating in general. Even if he was tempted, seeing the way his father’s affair destroyed their family would make him highly unlikely to subject his own children to that kind of drama.

But then again, maybe he thought he could get away with it? Also, children tend to mimic the behavior they see, whether they realize it or not. Prince Charles’ affair could have made Prince William more likely to cheat simply because that was his example of how husbands behave.

We might never know for sure if Prince William cheated on Kate Middleton or if it’s all one big vile rumor. But cheater or not, Prince William has plenty in common with his father.