How Prince William Is "Putting Family First" in His "Quiet" Approach to Future Kingship Role

Following reports that Prince William is planning a "radical departure" from his predecessors when he becomes king, a royal expert has celebrated the Prince of Wales's decision to focus on family. Princess Diana predicted the qualities that would serve her son well as monarch, and William has been working hard to silence critics calling him "work-shy." Along with his wife, Princess Kate—who is known to prioritize teaching her children "central values"—William is apparently "putting family first" as he approaches the throne.

In a profile of William written by Sky News's royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills, the journalist shared what she learned about the prince after shadowing him for a week. "The ornate robes of the Order of the Bath service...felt like a world away from the more modern image he wants to portray," Mills explained. "But as a man bestowed with so many traditional titles, it's a new role he's shaping for himself that is more intriguing—William, the quiet disruptor."

Highlighting the newer, low-key approach Prince William has been taking to official engagements, Mills said the Prince of Wales is "setting out to do things differently, or underlining the challenges, and potential criticisms, he faces doing things his own way."

Mills also noted that William's approach to the future kingship isn't necessarily new; instead, the future monarch has been preparing for the crucial role his entire life. "Those who've known him a long time will tell you this compulsion to do things differently has been there for some time," the royal correspondent noted.

Mills suggested that, unlike his predecessors, "there is family to consider, in a way that past generations just haven't." The royal expert explained, "Their working diaries are now arranged around their children. They've made no secret of that."

As William has centered his young family in everything he does, "it has led to mutterings of that word no one within the palace wants to hear: 'workshy,'" Mills noted. But the royal correspondent suggested that the general public is actually in favor of William's new approach to family, as she explained, "most thought William was setting a good example by putting family first."

It would seem that, as Prince William looks to his future as king, the three children he shares with Princess Kate remain the center of his world.