They’ve both been going about their business as usual. In the past few months, King Charles and Prince William carried out packed schedules — making official visits to Italy and Estonia, respectively, with William also filling in for his father at the pope’s funeral in Rome in April — while occasionally crossing paths for events like Commonwealth Day in March. But William and Princess Kate Middleton’s decision to skip a private Easter celebration with the rest of the royals raised eyebrows, with many reports suggesting that the king defied his son’s wishes by inviting Charles’
scandal-plagued brother Prince Andrew.

A week later, Meghan Markle’s continued usage of the HRH title caused a fuss, with the Daily Beast reporting that an “enraged” William would put a stop to such insolence when he’s king — and that a too-complacent Charles has “lost control.”

There’s no doubt William has been flexing his muscles, especially in the wake of Charles’ cancer diagnosis. “William’s voice and influence have become louder and more pronounced in recent years,” former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond exclusively tells In Touch. “He is now very much the king in waiting, and his views of how the monarchy should adapt and evolve are being listened to.” And while some insiders insist father and son simply have opposing opinions on how to handle certain hot-button issues, others claim the royal rift goes much deeper — and a tense battle over the crown is underway. As Omid Scobie wrote in his 2023 book, Endgame, the “brewing power struggle between the favored prince and the unpopular king is Shakespearean — a familial tug-of-war waged both onstage and off that has the potential to unravel the monarchical tapestry.”

Their ideas about managing wayward royals are at the heart of the conflict. “I believe William was a significant voice in how Prince Harry and Meghan should be treated, and also in how his uncle, Andrew, should be dealt with,” Bond tells In Touch, acknowledging that Charles, 76, may be more forgiving on both counts. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams agrees that William’s approach to Harry has “hardened considerably after the way the Sussexes have attacked the royal family” and tells In Touch that Charles has “a certain empathy” for his little brother “which William does not share.”

Charles has even reportedly sided with Andrew over William in the past. In Endgame, Scobie suggested that William, 42, was “irked” by how Charles and Andrew manipulated Queen Elizabeth II into firing a trusted aide back in 2017, removing the one person who many courtiers believed could have handled Megxit in 2020 without destroying the family. “It may be that the King regrets” that decision in hindsight, agrees Fitzwilliams.

And yet by many accounts, the scheming behind palace walls continued. Scobie also alleged in Endgame that Charles, “jealous of Harry’s popularity with the media and William’s preferred status in the Firm, has been known to turn a blind eye while aides leak details about his sons to the press,” and the “tussle for the spotlight has only heightened since Charles became king.” Harry made similar claims in Spare, and Scobie has pointed out that the scandals stirred up by headlines detract from the real story “that’s sort of playing out under our noses,” he told Business Insider in 2023. “I’ve really noticed this kind of growing divide between Charles and William.”

Prince William Will Have a Different ‘Style’ Than King Charles as King

Their goals are not necessarily aligned. “Their style is different, so are their ages. William will want a changed monarchy which appeals in the future in a different way,” Fitzwiliams tells In Touch. Compared to his father, William is already said to be “more diplomatic” says Fitzwilliams, and “informal,” says Bond. The one person who’s caught in the middle? Princess Kate, 43. “She is solution-focused and is certainly the glue” that holds William and Charles together when they don’t “see eye-to-eye,” royal broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News earlier this year, while royal author Robert Jobson called her a “stabilizing influence” on William in his 2024 book, Catherine, the Princess of Wales. Most insiders agree that she’s helped William prioritize family over duty, which will likely continue when they become king and queen.

And while Bond insists he’s in no rush to formally take the throne, William has started making plans. He famously told reporters last year that he wanted to put “a smaller ‘r’ in the Royal.” Behind the scenes, he’s already taking charge, a royal insider recently told In Touch. “As soon as Charles bestowed more responsibility on him, William seized the opportunity to make decisions that he feels will benefit the Crown,” said the insider, adding that he’s focused on “trimming the fat” and monitoring spending like never before. “The word is he’s already on his way to being the toughest ruler the family has ever seen.”

Charles knows that most people — even at the palace — are eagerly anticipating William’s reign, which only “adds insult to injury,” Scobie wrote in Endgame, in which he quotes a source as saying that even William sees his father as a “transitional monarch, paving the way for his arrival.”