Prince William caught under the queen's wing: how she prepares him to become king
Prince William was born with an immense responsibility: that of one day becoming the King of England. Before acceding to the throne, his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, passed on everything she knew to him so that he could better understand his future role as monarch.
When he was only 13, Prince William already had a busy schedule. After his weeks of boarding school at the famous Etton College, the young prince disappeared for a few hours every Sunday, very discreetly, without informing his classmates. The eldest son of Prince Charles and Lady Diana was actually traveling to Windsor Castle to visit his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. This weekly ritual, as Katie Nicholl, the author of Kate: The Future Queen in the columns of Ok !, explains, had a very specific purpose: to teach William about his future role as king.
"The Queen plays a very special double role in William's life," says Kate Nicholl. Indeed, "she is his sovereign, but also a very loving grandmother who wants to prepare him for the future". Upon learning that her grandson had expressed reservations about his future royal role as soon as he entered his teens, the Queen decided to invite him every Sunday for a trio exchange with the Duke of Edinburgh.
The queen knew how to "place the family above duty"
Thereafter, there was nothing formal or obligatory about these dates for Harry's older brother. "He spent time alone with his grandmother to talk about everything and nothing," reveals the biographer Kate Middleton. The Queen was there "to let her offload" but also to pass on to her what her grandfather, King George V, had taught her before she came to the throne.
This close relationship allowed Prince William to "embrace his destiny" as the future King of England, continues Katie Nicholl, who specifies that the queen's affection for Lady Diana's sons increased at the time of death. of it, in 1997, in Paris. In making the decision to stay in Scotland, at Balmoral to "be there for William and Harry, rather than come back and address a nation in mourning", the Queen has committed an extremely rare act in her reign: she has "Placed the family above duty". The author remembers how Elizabeth II was "criticized" for this choice, but "she felt that her grandsons needed her". A great lesson in versatility for this queen who also plays the role of caring grandmother (and great-grandmother).
