Prince William reportedly has a “ruthless streak” and “holds a grudge” against those who have sided against him, or are in favor of his brother Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle.
Several royal experts dished on William’s resentful nature after his recent commitment declaration to the Church of England — now led by Sarah Mullally — despite his previous ties to the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
“Justin and his team, for many years at Lambeth Palace, did try very hard to get meetings with William and there was just a wall of silence that came down,” expert Roya Nikkah said on Times Radio earlier this week, per Daily Mail.
“William is someone who does hold a grudge, he does choose sides. If someone picks the other side, he remembers that,” she added.
The rift between William and Welby likely has some connection to his relationship with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Harry and Meghan sought out Welby’s guidance and shared intimate details with him, Nikkah shared.
In 2021, the ex-royals also revealed in their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview that Welby secretly married them before their big ceremony.
But William’s alleged mean streak is not necessarily a bad thing for the royal, according to expert Richard Fitzwilliams.
“William is our future king. Thank goodness he has a ruthless streak, as this is needed in today’s world, especially with the monarchy among its most closely watched institutions,” Fitzwilliams told Daily Mail.
“He is clearly an excellent judge of character and has deservedly won praise for his diplomatic skills. An example of his perspicacity has been the way he handled contacts with Lambeth Palace during the tenure of Justin Welby as archbishop of Canterbury.”
“Welby became close to Harry and Meghan during the run-up to their marriage in 2018. However, Meghan claimed on Oprah that he had married them first in a secret ceremony in their ‘backyard,’” adding that the former archbishop went on to deny the claims in Italian paper La Repubblica.
The archbishop officially resigned from the church in November 2024 over a failure to report John Smyth, a British barrister who allegedly committed decades of abuse against hundreds of men and boys over a timeline spanning decades, reports the BBC.
“His bizarre resignation speech in the House of Lords was condemned as ‘frivolous’ and ‘disgusting,’ and he had to apologise,” Fitzwilliams told the outlet.
“William was absolutely right to keep him at arm’s length, ensuring his contacts are with his successor, Sarah Mullally, who may one day crown him. William’s ‘quiet faith’ will resonate with contemporary Britain.”
The Prince of Wales’ wrath allegedly extends far beyond the former archbishop and has been felt by some of his former friends like journalist Tom Bradby and his family members including Prince Harry and Markle, his uncle Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, and their daughters, princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
“He and Catherine have not seen Harry and Meghan since Queen Elizabeth’s Funeral,” Fitzwilliams explained.
He continued: “The brothers are not thought to have spoken since then. The rift resulted from the way they trashed the Monarchy for personal gain after they stepped down as senior working royals.”
“This was appalling and he rightly has not forgotten or forgiven what was both damaging and outrageous.”
Kensington Palace did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
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