Prince Charles Allegedly ‘Threatened’ By Prince William & Kate Middleton, Per Royal Expert Tom Bower

Trouble is brewing in the royal family. A new biography of Prince Charles claims that he felt threatened by Prince William and Kate Middleton’s rise in popularity and is concerned about their time in the limelight. Will Charles’ fears change his mind about becoming the next King of England?

According to People, British journalist Tom Bower just released a new biography of Prince Charles that explores the growing rift between him and William. In the book, Rebel Prince: The Power, Passion and Defiance of Prince Charles, Bower claims that Charles felt as though William and his wife, Kate Middleton, tried to isolate him from the rest of the royal family.

Charles was apparently offended when William and Kate chose to live miles away from his home base in Highgrove and wasn’t happy about their decision to spend Christmas with Kate’s family.

Things reached a tipping point when a few courtiers in the palace visibly ignored Kate’s mother, Carole Middleton. The palace workers had noticed Charles’ dislike of his son’s in-laws, and the incident led to a huge rift between Charles and William. Queen Elizabeth tried to smooth things over by inviting Carole to Balmoral estate, which helped alleviate some of the tension between the two families.

Charles, meanwhile, attempted to bond with Kate by taking her to an opera at Covent Garden. Unfortunately for the future king, the plan backfired when the singers gave one of their worst performances of Bellini’s “La Sonnambula.” With everything seemingly going wrong, Robert Higdon, the head of Charles’s charity foundation in the United States, claims that Charles feared for the worst.

“Charles saw Kate and William as the new stars and feared he’d be in trouble,” Higdon shared.

Charles has had a complicated relationship with his sons ever since his affair and divorce with their mom, Princess Diana. Charles always worried that his ex-wife was turning William and Prince Harry against him, but things got even worse after her tragic death in 1997. Charles didn’t help things when he married his mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles, in 2005.

In fact, William and Harry reportedly avoided bumping into Camilla by entering their house via the servants’ quarters.

In an excerpt in Vanity Fair, it was revealed that Queen Elizabeth II also had a strained relationship with Camilla. She allegedly had a very difficult time forgiving Camilla for breaking up her husband’s first marriage.

This is one reason why the two waited for so long after the divorce to get married. Although it took a while before Elizabeth forgave Camilla, the two now get along much better than in the past.

Charles is first in line to inherit the crown once Elizabeth passes away or retires from her royal duties. All signs point toward Charles taking the throne, though William’s rise in popularity has led to speculation that Prince Charles will abdicate in his old age and hand over the reins to his son. The palace has not commented on these rumors.