A difficult decision Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William faced regarding their eldest child Prince George is touched upon in royal historian and biographer Robert Lacey’s new book ‘Battle of Brothers: William, Harry and the Inside Story of a Family in Tumult’. The book lays bare key details that defined Prince William and brother Prince Harry growing up. These include the difficulty Prince William’s parents – Prince Charles, 71, and the late Princess Diana – faced in telling William he will one day be king.
Mr Lacey writes: “No. 1 and No. 2… Here was the heart of the problem.
“Charles and Diana had never hidden from William his future destiny as king – and by being sent to Mrs Mynor’s Nursery he had been perversely reminded of this when he was only three.
“The idea had been that by mixing with ‘ordinary’ children, the young prince should become more ordinary himself, but the opposite seemed to occur.
“Everyone from staff to dinner ladies – and not least the other children – knew exactly who William was, and had treated them accordingly even though they had been told to do otherwise.”
READ MORE: How Prince George, Charlotte & Louis will be related to royal baby
According to the expert, William and Kate intended to wait until a “controlled moment of their choice” to explain to George the destiny ahead of him.
Mr Lacey writes: “More recently, Prince William and his wife Kate have decided that they would not broach the ‘king’ subject with their firstborn Prince George until a controlled moment of their choice -reflecting William’s unhappiness at the haphazard fashion in which the whole business of his royal destiny had buzzed around his head from the start.”
Mr Lacey claims Prince William’s mother was acutely aware of the burden that William would have to carry as an heir and claimed her second-born Harry would “enjoy more freedom.”
Mr Lacey writes: “‘Royal firstborns may get all the glory’, said Diana in one interview, ‘but the second-borns enjoy more freedom.”
“‘Only when Harry is a lot older will he realise how lucky he is not to have been the eldest.'”
DON’T MISS
Zara Tindall daughters to undergo change when royal baby arrives [INSIGHT]
Prince Edward steps into Prince Philip’s shoes with important visit [PICTURES]
Meghan Markle and Harry: All the details as Sussexes join Malala [VIDEO]
A blurb of the new royal biography reads: “With unparalleled access and exclusive insights from Buckingham Palace officials – both past and present – royal biographer and historical consultant to The Crown, Robert Lacey deconstructs this unique and complex relationship at the heart of the royal family’s recent woes.
“He reveals the untold details from both sides, from the Princes’ early closeness through to their now very public estrangement and asks what happens when two sons are raised for vastly different futures.
“One burdened with the responsibility of becoming king, the other with the knowledge that he will always remain spare.
“With an unrivalled knowledge of court life and access to impeccable sources, Robert Lacey also assesses how Prince Charles and Prince Andrew’s own relations have strained under the Crown and the role Queen Elizabeth II has played in marshalling her feuding heirs.
“In the most intimate vision yet of life behind closed gilded doors, with its highs, lows and indiscretions all laid out, this is a journey into royal life as never offered before.”
The hardback version costs £20 and the Ebook is £9.99.
