WILLIAM BEGS CHARLES MAKE ME KING, DAD!

The prince is determined to leapfrog his father and take the throne

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As the Duke of Cambridge appears in public more frequently by the week, his late mother Princess Diana’s infamous opinion that Prince William should leapfrog his father onto the throne is looming large in royal watchers’ minds.

Now, Woman’s Day can exclusively reveal, palace courtiers are wondering if that is in fact the 39-year-old second-in-line’s plan. “It cannot be denied that Prince William has just as much, if not more, sway over the Queen than his father does, and is just as popular both behind palace walls and with the people outside of it,” confides one well-placed royal source.

FATHER-SON CLASH

William is said to “have spent years butting heads with Prince Charles” over how to best reshape the monarchy, according to insiders. More recently, it has become the world’s worst-kept secret that Wills feels he should be the one to modernise the monarchy, not his father.

It’s not exactly music to Charles’ ears, given that at 73 he is the world’s longest-serving heir to the throne.

“Charles is acutely aware of how both William and the public feel,” says the source.