King in the wings! - THE QUEEN & WILLS' SECRET PACT

HE’S THE MAN HE IS TODAY BECAUSE OF HER GUIDANCE

- Judy Kean

The Queen and Prince William have a particularly strong bond, and now one of the reasons why they are close has come to light. It’s been revealed that Her Majesty played a key role in getting William through a very difficult time in his life, and without her intervention, he may have been headed for a breakdown.

The concerned grandmother could see that William was struggling after his parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, separated in 1992. Aged just 10 at the time, the heir to the throne was devastated by the split and felt caught between his parents, and over the next few years the stress started to take a toll. It reached a point where the Queen decided she had to step in, says royal author Robert Lacey.

“It was then three years after his parents’ separation – just two years before Diana’s death – and the Queen was worried about William’s state of mind,” says Robert in his new book, Battle of Brothers: William and Harry – The Inisde Story of a Family in Tumult.

“The Queen actually feared that the boy might be heading for some sort of breakdown, she confided to one of her advisors – just as the prince’s mother herself had clearly cracked mentally in several respects.”

William’s grandfather, Prince Philip, also thought his grandson needed support. He encouraged the Queen to “try to get closer to this particular boy – who was not just her fragile grandson, but a future inheritor of her crown”.