King Charles and his son, Prince William, have maintained a close relationship through the years, but apparently things are starting to change; insiders say the relationship has ‘shifted.’

Prince William and King Charles have seemingly always had a close father-son bond. William is Charles’ firstborn, meaning he is first in line for the throne now that Charles is king. In recent years, the two seemed to grow even closer with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to separate themselves from the royal family.

Recently, though, two royal insiders claimed that things behind palace doors aren’t as peachy as they seem. Rather, there is allegedly a power struggle between William and his father that has “shifted” their “dynamic.”

William and Charles have been through a lot together in recent years. The Prince of Wales watched both his father and his wife, Kate Middleton, face cancer diagnoses earlier this year, and Charles and William watched their son and brother, Prince Harry, disappear from the royal family only a few years back. Things have definitely changed for the royals in recent years, but Charles and William’s relationship has remained steady.

Now, a source is claiming that the two are actually in a bit of a power struggle because Charles is so unwilling to hand over any responsibility to his son. “The dynamics have shifted,” one source close to the royals told Us Weekly. “Charles has wanted to be the monarch for decades,” another source said. “Even though he’s battling cancer, he’s not letting that get in the way of his desire to be successful on the throne or a dynamic leader.”

Still, despite that Charles is not so quick to give up the throne, William is still “preparing” to one day have the role.

Prince William and Kate Middleton are putting their family first

Although sources claim that William is set on preparing for his role as king, he and Kate have shown that they aren’t putting the throne ahead of their family. Kate took most of 2024 away from the spotlight in order to focus on her health, and she and William even relocated from Kensington Palace to Windsor Castle in 2022 in order to give their kids a more private upbringing.

While William and Kate are certainly preparing to take the throne because that’s what they have to do, it is hard to believe William could be so obsessed with the role of king that he is willing to let his relationship with his father dwindle. Of course, time will tell, but it’s hard to believe the sources are right.