Prince William and King Charles III put on a united front amid ongoing reports of a rift between them.
The father-son duo stepped out at the Countdown to COP30 event on Thursday, October 9, at the Natural History Museum in London. The event kicked off the upcoming COP30 summit, set to take place next month, by bringing together climate ambassadors from around the globe. (The outing came just after Charles announced his upcoming documentary about the environment and hope for a sustainable future.)
Charles, 76, and William, 43, arrived together at Thursday’s event and were photographed meeting with several attendees. It appears they didn’t leave each other’s side during the outing.
Their public appearance comes after multiple reports of tension between William and Charles, with several outlets claiming that there’s a frosty relationship between the two after the Prince of Wales spoke candidly about the monarchy during a recent appearance on Eugene Levy’s Apple TV+’s The Reluctant Traveler. (Us Weekly has reached out for comment.)
“I think it’s safe to say that change is on my agenda. Change for good. And I embrace that and I enjoy that change — I don’t fear it,” William said during the episode, which premiered earlier this month. “That’s the bit that excites me, is the idea of being able to bring some change. Not overly radical change, but changes that I think that need to happen.”
Some reports claimed that Charles was unhappy with William speaking out. However, royal historian Robert Lacey disagreed.
“This shouldn’t be seen as criticism of King Charles,” he told People in a profile published earlier this week. “He is very close to his father and has been his most important supporter.”
Royal biographer Sally Bedell told the publication that William’s decision to have a conversation with Levy was a “savvy move” by the Prince of Wales.
“By choosing a Canadian comedian as his interlocutor, William seems to be signaling that he wants to break out of the conventional mold,” Bedell explained to People.
William also addressed the fact that his eldest son, Prince George, will be king one day. (William and wife Princess Kate Middleton share kids George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7.)
“There’s lots of things to think about with that. Obviously, I want to create a world in which my son is proud of what we do, a world and a job that actually does impact people’s lives for the better,” William said. “That is caveated with, I hope we don’t go back to some of the practices in the past that [Prince] Harry and I had to grow up with — and I’ll do everything I can to make sure we don’t regress in that situation.”
William also offered some updates on his personal life during his The Reluctant Traveler appearance, alluding to both Charles and Kate’s respective cancer diagnoses.
“I’d say 2024 was the hardest year I’ve ever had,” William said during the episode. “You know, life is sent to test us as well, and being able to overcome that is what makes us who we are.”
While things appear to be fine between William and Charles, the Prince of Wales and his brother are still on the outs. William has been feuding with Harry since the Duke of Sussex left his royal family role in 2020 and relocated to America with wife Meghan Markle. Harry and Charles, meanwhile, have taken a step to rectify their relationship with a closed-door meeting earlier this year.
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