Why Prince William Is Very Different to His Father

Prince William may have taken over two of King Charles III's most important roles when he ascended to the throne in September 2022, but he is navigating the new responsibilities in a very different way.

When Queen Elizabeth II died, William took on the title of Duke of Cornwall, which includes responsibility for running the $1-billion Duchy of Cornwall property empire, as well as becoming the new Prince of Wales, the most senior title in the British monarchy held outside of the king and queen.

William has been groomed for the roles of responsibility he would one day fulfil (including that of monarch) from birth, often accompanying his father for engagements and meetings in an unofficial apprenticeship.

Though many may expect William to follow closely in his father's footsteps—Charles was the longest serving Duke of Cornwall and Prince of Wales, winning praise for his stewardship of both roles—William made clear during a 2018 interview that, when the time came, he would be a different man to his father.

"There are so many things that I admire about my father, his work ethic, his passions, all that sort of side of things are absolutely crucial to how he's been such a successful Prince of Wales and an amazing father," William said in the documentary Prince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70.

"But, personally I want to be my own man and take my own style, my own passions, my own interests, my way and do things slightly differently."

"I think it's important," he added, "that each generation does things a little bit differently than the previous."

Nowhere has this been more evident in the past 20 months since he took over his new roles, than in the way he has led the Duchy of Cornwall.

The duchy is an expansive holding of over 52,000 hectares of land across Britain which was founded in 1337. The profits on rents and income from the duchy provide the eldest son of the monarch with an annual income. In the 2022/23 financial year this income was £24 million ($30.7 million), though William received only a £6 million ($7.6 million) proportion of this as he took over midway through the year.

William was criticized in 2023 for not publishing an annual report detailing his official income and expenditure, something his father had done as Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall for a number of years before his accession to the throne.

There is no set rulebook for how the duchy is run. William is free to pursue his own interests within the scope of the duchy in collaboration with its board of trustees. For instance, Charles was particularly interested in architecture as well as organic farming during his tenure, with significant investment being made in these areas.

In a 2019 interview for the documentary Prince Charles: Inside the Duchy of Cornwall, William suggested to duchy farmers that the former will become less an integral area of his work.

"I'm not going to rock the boat when it's my turn," he said of running the duchy. "I'll do much the same as my father's doing, just a few tweaks here and there[...]I'm not so into the architecture, that's the only thing."

Since taking over the duchy and the Wales title, William has moved to streamline their outlooks, focusing on a narrower output, but with the aim to create more impactful change in core areas. So far, homelessness has formed the core of these.

In 2023, William launched what is hoped to be one of the defining initiatives of his tenure as Prince of Wales, his Homewards homelessness scheme.

This project has invested both funding and expertise into identifying a scalable model to help communities support their most vulnerable members to end homelessness completely.

Homewards was launched in June 2023 in six hub centers around Britain through the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Though Homewards was launched primarily in his capacity as Prince of Wales, William has also incorporated his mission to end homelessness through the Duchy of Cornwall.

In February 2024, the duchy announced its first housing project as part of plans to tackle homelessness in the Southwest of England. The duchy, in partnership with the Cornwall based homelessness charity, St. Petrocs, will provide 24 homes for people who are homeless, with investment helping the building process to start by 2025.

In a press release announcing the project, the duchy's estate director, Ben Murphy, highlighted how important William's passion was in the new direction he was taking the organization.

"As one of his key priorities for the Duchy of Cornwall, Prince William asked us to address the homelessness challenge within Cornwall and other areas where the estate resides," he said. "Today, we are excited to reveal plans for this innovative housing project to help break the cycle of homelessness in the Newquay area."

As William matures into his roles as Duke of Cornwall and Prince of Wales, he continues his move away from Charles' wide-ranging approach to work, which has often been commented on, instead opting for core focuses with the potential for greater impact and change.

Charles has not publicly commented on the way his son has adapted to his new roles, though in a 2018 interview conceded that the prince was unlikely to replicate his working model.

"My eldest son, William, may want to do it differently, slightly," he said. "I mean, the whole point is it has this flexibility about it."

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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