King Charles and cancer, Prince William is moving towards a “soft regency”

With Charles III forced to suspend almost every activity because cancer patientthe hypothesis of one is emerging in London «soft regency» of the eldest son William. That is, the prince will be made charged with many of the functions of the fatherfrom hearings with ambassadors to the appointment of judges, but Charles will continue to ensure the sovereign's central functionssuch as the weekly meetings with the prime minister (perhaps remotely, as he did Elizabeth II during the pandemic), the monthly meeting of the Privy Council and the promulgation of laws. Buckingham Palace also clarified that for now the “red briefcase” has not been given to the Prince of Wales which contains the official government documents reserved for the sovereign.

In the last years of Queen Elizabeth's life, the then heir to the throne Charles was given access to that legendary red leather briefcase full of documents to read, sign and approve. William, who yesterday spoke in public for the first time after the announcement of King Charles' illness (“We really appreciate everyone's kind messages”), at least for the moment, he doesn't have to worry about the red box: his father will continue to think about it as he continues cancer treatment at Sandringham country house.

Probably a relief for William who in this period would have liked to be close to his wife Kate Middleton, who was recovering in Windsor after delicate abdominal surgery, but instead due to his father's illness he had to quickly interrupt his break from royal duties and get back to work. Yesterday he attended one investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle and then at the annual London Air Ambulance fundraising gala, a charity sponsored by the Princes of Wales. William in these hours can count on key figures of the monarchy such as Queen CamillaPrincess Anna and the prince Edwardbut it is on his head as the future king of England that, suddenly, major responsibilities rained down. It is above all up to him to fill the void that opened up in the Crown after the announcement of the cancer diagnosed in the 75-year-old Charles III.

The sovereign – who yesterday had a flash meeting with his son Harry, who landed in London and left for California within twenty-four hours – according to Palace sources “he is reacting courageously to the cancer diagnosis”. And everything would have in mind less than oneabdication in favor of his eldest son William (also because he has been on the throne for just over a year after a wait of seven decades in the shadow of his mother Queen Elizabeth). In the event that his health conditions worsen, however, another extreme hypothesis emerges in London: William's assumption of the regency.

A procedure that would be triggered if King Charles was permanently incapacitated by an “infirmity of the body or mind»: it would be a small council made up of Camilla, the Lord Chancellor, the speaker of the House and the two highest judges of the Kingdom who would decide whether the king is incapable of «carrying out royal functions». In that case, William would become prince regent and de facto ruler. An option that the British tabloids define as «nuclear», because it would cause a sort of implosion of the King's power, the loss of a national balance that the regent should be able to re-establish. This “nuclear” option, however, currently seems distant. Buckingham Palaceaccording to royal experts, leans towards a “soft regency” which gives the prince more powers but without distorting the status quo.