The one thing King Charles could not ‘tolerate’ Prince William and Princess Kate doing

Prince Harry revealed his fatherā€™s biggest dislike in his memoir Spare, and hinted at why the two senior royals may do comparatively fewer royal engagements

King Charles' team forced to defend decision

here was one key thing thatĀ King CharlesĀ could not standĀ Prince WilliamĀ andĀ Princess KateĀ doing, according toĀ Prince Harry. The monarch’s younger son gave a revealing insight into the family dynamics in his memoirĀ Spare, which was published to much fanfare in 2023.

At one point in the book, set in 2015, Harry said that the then-Prince Charles and his wife – who was known asĀ Camilla Parker-BowlesĀ at the time – were envious of the public attention his older brother William and wife Kate tended to receive. The Prince said: “Willy did everything he (Charles) wanted, and sometimes he didn’t want him to do much, because my dad and Camilla didn’t like Willy and Kate getting too much publicity.”

The Duke of Sussex, now 41, alleges that Charles’ staff ensured that Kate, who was the Duchess of Cambridge, was not photographed at any royal engagements holding a tennis racket. He explained this was because “that kind of photo would have pushed Dad and Camilla off every front page”.

King Charles, now 77, feared the spotlight being taken away from him continued, claimed Harry. A couple of years later in 2017, when he introduced now-wifeĀ Meghan Markle, to the family, Harry alleged his father feared the actress had the potential to “dominate the monarchy”.

Prince William and Kate Middleton laughing together during a trip to Northern IrelandĀ© Getty Images
Harry claimed his father didn’t like the Prince and Princess of Wales taking the attention away from him

Harry said his father had “experienced that before and he had no interest in letting it happen to him again”, in reference to his late motherĀ Princess Diana. He added: “What he really couldnā€™t stomach was someone new dominating the monarchy, grabbing the limelight, someone shiny and new coming in and overshadowing him.”

Back in 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed they would be stepping back from royal duties. The couple relocated to Montecito, California, where they are raising their two children and take part in regular media appearances to promote projects including, most recently, anĀ appearance onĀ Oprah Daily.

Co-Founders of The Archewell Foundation and Project Healthy Minds' Humanitarians of the Year Award recipients Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of SussexĀ© John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made regular media appearances since stepping back from royal duties

Last year, the King, who acceded the throne in 2022 after the passing ofĀ Queen Elizabeth, carried out the most public engagements of all the royals at 532 – despite still undergoing treatment for cancer. He was followed by younger sisterĀ Princess AnneĀ at 478, the now-Duke of EdinburghĀ at 313 and his wife, theĀ Duchess of EdinburghĀ at 235.

However, in 2025, Prince William carried out 202 engagements, the Princess of Wales undertook undertook 68 and the couple attending 46 engagements together. The year before that, the mother-of-three had been diagnosed with cancer and took time away from official duties for treatment.