King-in-waiting risks clashes with government over plans for a more ‘robust’ role
Prince William could find himself in “constitutionally choppy waters” if he follows through on private remarks about adopting a tougher approach as monarch, according to royal author Valentine Low.
In his book Power and the Palace, Low points to a 2021 The Sunday Times profile that claimed William told friends he would take a more “robust” line when questioning advice from prime ministers. This would contrast sharply with the famously neutral stance of his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, who stayed strictly above politics during her 70-year reign.
Low suggests this outlook may have been shaped by the political turmoil of 2019, when Boris Johnson sent Jacob Rees-Mogg to Balmoral Castle to seek the Queen’s consent to prorogue Parliament—a move that dragged the monarchy into controversy. William may see a more assertive role as a way to avoid similar situations in the future.
Speaking to GB News, Low reflected on the claim that William would pursue “more private, robust challenging of advice” once on the throne. “That’s what he has supposedly told friends,” Low said, recalling how one senior Whitehall figure reacted: “If you think about it for just 30 seconds, that’s a stupid thing to say.”
Low questioned whether William had consulted advisers before making such remarks, stressing that under Britain’s constitutional framework, a prime minister’s advice to the monarch is not optional. “If you start questioning it or saying, ‘Why are you advising me that?’ it could cause all sorts of problems. It could lead to a very bumpy relationship between King and Prime Minister, King and Government,” he warned.
He added that the fallout would depend on the political climate at the time. “If the monarchy has the upper hand and starts challenging advice, that could be really stormy. But if the government’s strong, there’s no way they could challenge advice—they’d just have to do what they’re told.”
By contrast, King Charles III has gone “out of his way to be accommodating” to Keir Starmer, Low noted, aiming to move past his earlier image as a “meddling Prince of Wales.”
