Prince William & Prince Charles Will Have an "Issue" With "Competition"

Prince William And Prince Charles — (Image credit: Getty/Tim Graham)

The Queen is 95 years old, and as such, people are starting to think about what the British monarchy will look like once she passes away.

For royal biographer Penny Junor, the relationship between heir apparent Prince Charles and his first-born son Prince William has the potential to be slightly fraught as they adjust to their new roles now and in the future—especially since William is so much more popular with the public than his father.

"I think it's always going to be a little bit difficult," Junor told Newsweek. "They [Charles and William] are two people doing a very similar job. With all fathers and sons I think there's an element of competition, the older man not really wanting to step over just yet and let the younger take his crown."

The author doesn't think the two men have a bad relationship by any means; she simply anticipates there being difficulties for them down the road. "I think that's always going to be a slight issue," she continued. "I think they're closer than they were, and they're both pulling very much in the same direction."

But that's not the only roadblock Charles will face as he prepares to ascend to the throne. Firstly, the British people are becoming less enthused by the idea of a monarchy, period. And then there's the issue of Princess Diana, who remains a beloved figure more than two decades after her tragic death, and whose complicated former marriage to Charles doesn't do anything for his popularity.

"I think that is something that will haunt him indefinitely, unhappily," Junor explained. "The problem is that at every anniversary she will be brought up again and the facts or a version of the facts will be trotted out. There will always be people who choose to believe everything they see and hear and watch."

Much like the royal family, Junor doesn't sound like a huge fan of a certain Netflix show about them all. "Things like The Crown I think are incredibly damaging and are giving a false impression of Charles to the world," she said.

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Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.