Prince William could face “constitutionally choppy waters” if he follows through on comments attributed to him about challenging the advice of future prime ministers, a leading royal author has told GB News.
In his book Power and the Palace, Valentine Low recounts how a 2021 profile of the prince in The Sunday Times reported that William had told friends that, when he is King, there would be “more private, robust challenging of advice.”
This more “challenging” approach would contrast with the late Queen Elizabeth II, who was “above politics and very much away from it.”
The remarks were linked to the fallout from the prorogation of Parliament in 2019, when Boris Johnson sent Jacob Rees-Mogg to Balmoral to secure Queen Elizabeth II’s consent.
Prince William risks ‘constitutionally choppy waters’ if he challenges Government advice
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Asked about those claims, Mr Low told GB News: “Well, that’s what he has supposedly told friends.
“I spoke to someone senior in Whitehall, and you’re probably familiar with the quote. They said, ‘If you think about it for just 30 seconds, that’s a stupid thing to say.’”
Mr Low questioned whether William had consulted advisers before making the remark. “I wonder, when William said that, had he consulted with his private secretary, did he actually think it through? Because there’s no doubt, the advice from a prime minister to a sovereign - it’s not advice in the sense of the word that you and I think.
“It’s advice that’s there to be followed. It’s like an instruction. And if you start questioning it or saying, 'Why are you advising me that?' I think that could cause all sorts of problems.
Prince William photographed with Queen Elizabeth II
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“It could certainly lead to a very bumpy relationship between King and Prime Minister, King and Government, if you actually started challenging advice, not just questioning it.”
The royal author warned that such a stance would depend heavily on the political context. “If the monarchy has the upper hand, and they start challenging advice, that could be really, really stormy.
“But if the monarchy doesn’t have the upper hand and 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 has gone “out of his way to be accommodating” to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Low said, conscious of his past reputation as a “meddling Prince of Wales.”
King Charles is being 'accommodating' to Keir Starmer, Low claims
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Keir Starmer presented Donald Trump with King Charles's invitation for a second state visit earlier this year | PAHe added: “You can see that in the way he was so accommodating about the invitation to Donald Trump for a second state visit. It’s basically unprecedented. And again, this is not the advice of the King, also not the advice of the Prime Minister, but you know, there might have been a certain to and fro about that.
“If the Palace had had doubts, that might have caused a few ructions behind the scenes. But I think it’s quite clear that, although privately they might have raised an eyebrow, on the surface they said, absolutely, we’ll extend the standard invitation and welcome President Trump with open arms. So yeah, Charles is going out of his way to be helpful.”
Reflecting on William, Mr Low concluded: “My suspicion is William will row back from that position when it comes to the reality of being King.
“He’s not going to go around questioning or challenging advice, but if he does, the future looks very unpredictable.”