Prince William Chooses to Put Family First Even Though Queen Elizabeth Did Not, Royal Insider Insists
King Charles has only been the British monarh for a couple years and already he’s made some changes that we would not have seen with the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Charles has definitely toned down things from all the pomp and pageantry that had always been present in just about everything the royal family did. He has also slimmed down the monarchy quite a bit to just having the working royals join him for balcony appearances whereas in the past, the queen would have the majority of her family up there with her.
Now, someone who used to work for the king expects to see even more changes and stepping away from how things used to be done, especially regarding family, when Prince William becomes the king.
Family is the ‘first priority’ for Prince William but it wasn’t that way with the late queen
Grant Harrold was King Charles’ butler for seven years. During his time working for the now-monarch, his duties included that of valet, housekeeper, house manager, and driver. Harrold also looked after Prince William and Prince Harry whenever they stayed at Highgrove House.
Speaking on behalf of Prime Casino, Harrold told Showbiz Cheat Sheet, “They [William and Kate] are obviously very dedicated to their work, but they have become much more carefree. I think they have also become much more dedicated to each other and their family. The late queen always used to say that she put monarchy over family. Admittedly, she did occasionally put family first in ways that contradict this, but she did say it often. I think William is very different. “
The former royal assistant continued: “I am not saying that the monarchy is not important to them, they will always work hard to support the monarchy, but their family will always be their first priority. They will first and foremost focus on what is best for their family and that is a huge change, for the monarchy in general, but also for William.
“When he was younger, the monarchy was much more of a central focus for him but that has certainly changed. He had a lot of other interests as a young man, but Kate has helped refocus him and make him the man he is today.”
When Queen Elizabeth let the world know her duty as the monarch came before her family
One moment the public actually saw that Queen Elizabeth’s duty did indeed come before her family was in 2005 when she announced that she would not be attending her oldest son’s wedding to then-Camilla Parker Bowles.
The reason for that is because both Charles and Camilla had been married before, and therefore as the Head of the Church of England, Queen Elizabeth decided it was not appropriate for her to attend the wedding of two people who were divorced. According to King Charles’ official biographer, Jonathan Dimbleby, Charles “would have liked the queen to be there” for his marriage ceremony, but his mother had made up her mind and wouldn’t budge on the issue.
The late queen “had been absolutely adamant…not because she was against the wedding, but because, as the supreme governor of the Church of England, you don’t do civil ceremonies,” Dimbleby explained per The Mirror.
However, both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip did attend Charles and Camilla’s marriage blessing, which was held at St. George’s Chapel later that day.
