Royal historian Robert Lacey spoke with People magazine about the role that Queen Elizabeth has played in Prince William’s life over the years, particularly when it comes to shaping him into the future king. It all started when William was a teenager, in the years after Princess Diana and Prince Charles divorced. The queen sort of took William under her wing, and began spending time with him one-on-one, Lacey explained. As William got a bit older, his grandfather, Prince Philip, suggested that he have weekly lunches with his grandmother. During these lunches, the queen and William would talk business, so-to-speak. “When the time came for the Queen to talk business with William, Philip would quietly excuse himself because he didn’t feel that the constitutional side of the Queen’s job was something he wanted to interfere in,” Lacey said.
Many people feel that William will work hard to modernize the monarchy, and will bring with him a sort of different vibe when he is crowned king. Lacey tells People that it’s really William who is “paving the way forward,” and he’s doing so with the training he’s received from his grandmother.Â
