Prince William would leave people stunned if he ripped up the rulebook on one very old tradition, according to one expert.
In many respects, Prince William is determined to do things his own way – with the future King already setting out an agenda and path for himself that is quite different from his father King Charles, and the late Queen Elizabeth. However, there are some royal traditions that it doesn’t seem that likely the future King will break away from.
One royal expert has said that if William broke with one longstanding tradition in particular he would be absolutely “stunned” – and it has to do with the destiny of Prince George, 11, William and Kate’s eldest child and the second-in-line to the throne.
The expert, Huw Thomas – an author and BBC royal broadcaster – said on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show that while there are some ways in which the public might be able to expect William to forge his own path, when it comes to the titles that Prince George will one day inherit, William will likely be sticking to the script.
When King Charles took the throne, he rapidly bestowed the title of Prince of Wales on William and Kate accordingly became Princess of Wales – a title last held by the late Princess Diana. Charles was himself the person to hold the title Prince of Wales for the longest in British history, as heir-in-waiting for over 64 years.
The expert believes that William will pass on the title that is usually held by the heir to the throne to George when the time comes and William becomes King.
While it is custom for the heir to hold the title, the monarch has to actively choose to give it to the first-in-line to the throne, as ‘Prince of Wales’ doesn’t pass on automatically through inheritance.
Thomas said: “I’d be stunned if it disappeared, only because the monarchy is built on tradition. It may not be an inherited title, but it is the tradition that the monarch gives their son the title Prince of Wales.
“So it would be quite stunning if they didn’t. History tells us they stick to tradition. Charles barely waited 24 hours before passing it on to William.
“And you would be surprised that if in future William thought, ‘now I’m going to kind of ditch this one,'” the expert concluded.
Charles held the title of Prince of Wales from 1958, when he was aged nine, until 2022 – and he also had a lavish investiture in Wales in 1969, during which he was officially presented to the Welsh people with the pomp and pageantry the public have come to expect from the Royal Family.
The ceremony took place in Caernarfon Castle and saw Charles give a speech in Welsh, which he had spent several weeks at Abersywyth Unveristy learning beforehand to make sure he was properly prepared.
While William now holds the title of Prince of Wales, he made it clear after his father bestowed it upon him that he had no plans for a lavish investiture ceremony, with Kensington Palace saying the ceremony was “not on the table” in 2022.
