Fresh sign Prince William is getting closer to the throne

A recent major move by Prince William has revealed a huge sign of things to come.

OPINION

The last time the Vatican was buffing their ceremonial staffs for a sitting Pope’s funeral was in 2005, when Prince William and his future wife Kate, The Princess of Wales were still letting the student bar Midori and lemonade stains out of their mortar boards having only just finished university.

Then Prince Charles delayed his wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles by a day, with the prawn vol-au-vents put back in the fridge, to attend.

Time has not only marched but sauntered, and then dashed, and now full on pelted since then.

As world leaders prepare to jet into Rome and wonder if they have time for a quick turn around the Borghese Gardens and a double-scoop gelato, William is set to notch up another milestone in his Kingly apprenticeship, with Buckingham Palace having announced that he will be attending this weekend’s funeral of Pope Francis, rather than Charles.

While this is not concerning – it’s protocol that the Sovereign does not attend funerals – still, William’s visit to Italian capital will be just the latest outing that has seen the him rub Brioni- clad shoulders with the sorts of people who have their own sets of nuclear codes, with the last 12 months having seen the HRH very obviously assume a far greater and higher-profile international role.

His freshman global statesman training wheels are about to officially come off.

Prince William is set to notch up another milestone in his Kingly apprenticeship. Picture: Jane Barlow/WPA Pool/Getty

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The last 12 months has seen the prince undergo not only incredible personal tumult, as his wife and father King Charles battled cancer, but has also seen his job as Prince of Wales undergo a serious makeover, clocking up the airmiles as he quietly took an unprecedentedly out-size place on the world stage for an heir to the throne.

Part of this was simply practical, with his father undergoing treatment for an unspecified form of cancer as was the case when he stood in for His Majesty during the commemoration for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in France last year.

However things have progressed much further with William seemingly having quietly ripped up and firmly chucked away the guidelines for being Prince of Wales with a firm eye on global politics.

Buckingham Palace announced Prince William would be attending this weekend’s funeral of Pope Francis, rather than King Charles. Picture: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

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Let us simply review the ever-growing collection of used Ryanair boarding passes he has acquired of late.

In March this year, at a time of heightened global tensions over the war in Ukraine, William flew to Estonia to visit British troops stationed near the border with Russia and to meet with the Estonian president Alar Karis.

In a very similar vein, it was the prince who was forced to rep the royal family and to freeze inside the rebuilt Notre Dame with the great and good for the famed cathedral’s reopening ceremony in December, 2024.

That same night, he was tasked with (and deemed fully up to) having the UK’s first one-on-one meeting with the freshly re-elected Donald Trump, spending 40 minutes speaking with him in private. (How much of that time was William banging on about his beloved Aston Villa’s defensive line, do you think?)

Prince William flew to Estonia to visit troops in March. Picture: Suzanne Plunkett/WPA Pool/Getty

In November, William was in South Africa for his Earthshot Prize, taking time away from helping bright, exciting minds save the Earth from climate catastrophe to meet with Cyril Ramaphosa, the South Africa president.

And before that it was the father-of-three who stood in for Charles at the international D-Day landing commemorations in France in May.

Getting the picture?

William clearly has his eye on a far bigger pitch than his safe, British home turf with royal aides and sources making clear how big his global ambitions are.

Already this year we know he will be heading to Brazil for the Cop30 climate conference and next Earthshot Prize. Contrast that with 2022 when Charles held a Palace reception for Cop participants and in 2023 when he delivered the opening address at Cop28 in Dubai in 2023.

Torches appear to be being passed.

Prince William was tasked with having the UK’s first one-on-one meeting with the freshly re-elected Donald Trump in December. Picture: Aaron Chown/Pool/Getty

All this jet setting and hobnobbing with presidents is right up his alley and reports suggest he is not bored witless having to ask polite questions about the current state of the Estonian tractor part industry or some such.

“He is extremely comfortable in doing this,” a well-placed palace source has told the Telegraph.

In fact, the prince, a royal aide told the Sunday Times, has a vision for “the role that modern monarchy has in diplomacy”.

Royal aides and sources have made clear how big Prince William’s global ambitions are. Picture: Darren Staples/WPA Pool/Getty

Now if all of this is making you worried that the ever-sensitive Charles’ nose might be out of joint by all of his son’s Davos-adjacent derring do, never fear.

Last year a friend of His Majesty told The Times: “If there was ever a green-eyed monster or a sense of rivalry between the two, that is a chapter of the past.

The King sees his son as a useful ally on family matters and increasingly in discharging the duties of nation and state.”

And so while the prince neatly packs his carry on and re-downloads Duo Lingo for the 17th time to brush up on his Italian basics, he has already made his impact felt far beyond Britain’s shores.

While in Estonia in March he visited the Mercian Regiment where he was reportedly surprised at how rudimentary, if not downright crappy, their rec room was.

“You don’t have a fridge? You’re joking? You do need a fridge. I’m definitely getting you a fridge,” the prince said at the time.

True to his word, he later arranged a personal donation. The Mercian Regiment won’t be the last people to raise a cold one to William.

Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.

Originally published as Fresh sign Prince William is getting closer to the throne