Penny Junor: Prince William

There is no knowing quite what the monarchy will look like in the future; or how it will be funded. It is something that Buckingham Palace and the Treasury discuss and something that the Prince of Wales gives thought to and has views about. William and Harry are not yet interested in the grand strategic plan – ‘Who would when you’re trying to fly a helicopter in a force 10?’ says one of the Household, who now spends most of his time pondering the subject. ‘That’ll come. They don’t want to work out the shape of the monarchy in twenty-five years’ time and what their children’s role in it will be and that sort of thing, which, let’s face it, is finger in the wind sort of stuff. They’re buzzing with ideas about soldiers and veterans and, “What about asking BAFTA to put on a show for the Centrepoint kids, and what about getting Wellchild kids to go up Helvellyn [a fell in the Lake District] with Mountain Rescue?” These are the sort of things they come up with every day and it’s huge fun.’

The only detail that is certain about the future is that if they have children, the eldest child will inherit the throne regardless of sex. The Queen was keen to see the ancient law of primogeniture repealed; also the law prohibiting anyone marrying a Roman Catholic to accede.

Everyone who knows Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, without exception, says what an incredible mentor he has been for William and Harry. He has helped them both through some difficult years, and understood the importance of giving them space and allowing them to achieve their personal goals. He is as pleased as punch with the finished product, but would say, ‘They are such cool guys, it’s very difficult to go wrong with them. Prince Harry has his moments but even with old Harry and his wild moments, the guy’s instincts are absolutely one hundred per cent brilliant. He just gets it; a very light finger on the tiller. People used to say to me, “You really must find something for young Harry to do.” Now they say, “God, you’ve got to find something where the country can really capitalise on Harry,” which is so great.’

‘I don’t think you can underestimate Jamie’s importance in all of this,’ says Julia Samuel. ‘He has great vision and William trusts him. He’s a brilliant combination of being tough as old boots because of the SAS, so he doesn’t get scared and quite likes danger and intensity, but he can think laterally. He plans; it’s like doing a campaign, every step ahead, which is what you need to keep someone secure. And he has a real genuine love for them, and I think the boys feel that. He’s put down very good foundation stones for their professional public role and taught them how to think about things.’

Having put those foundations in place, those who know him well say that Jamie may shortly hand over the reins to someone else. ‘He believes that after seven or eight years even the best person runs out of ideas, and whoever works for William and Harry needs to be at the top of his game. We have the most brilliant team here who can deal with the operational and tactical level, but you’ve got to maintain the focus at the strategic level because otherwise this thing will lose its potency. These guys will be so busy that they’ll need somebody behind them just to say, “Is that the right route actually? I know you want to go down it, but have you thought how that might influence the project in the Foundation you’ve got going at the moment? Or aren’t there lots of other people doing that? Is that something where you can really add value?” If you look at the Queen’s reign, she’s been sixty years on the throne and she’s had eight private secretaries, and there’s been a normal, natural friendly evolution of all those. That’s one every seven or eight years. I think there’s a bit of a revolving door thing here; you go in, do your bit and you come out again and the worst thing you can do is hang on, the worst. The person who comes next is going to have to be skilled at bureaucracy in the best sense of the word. Jamie would say that’s simply not his game. His successor would have to be up to speed on the nuances of committees in Whitehall and know the corridors of power and how it all works - almost like a diplomat.’

Whoever takes over the job come the time, and whatever the monarchy looks like in twenty years’ time, barring accidents, one thing is certain: the partnership that William and Harry have built up during Jamie’s tenure is likely to be the linchpin for its future. Diana joked that Harry was ‘the spare’, but he won’t be a spare languishing in the wings as spares in recent times have. Harry pulled a blinder on his Diamond Jubilee tour of the Caribbean in March. Portia Simpson Miller, Jamaica’s prime minister, who had announced she wanted to get rid of the Queen as head of state, ‘was reduced to a blushing, hugging schoolgirl at her first meet-and-greet with the Ginger One,’ said the Daily Mail . The paper called him ‘the Royal Family’s secret weapon’.

Confessing himself to be an amateur historian, Jamie is known to compare the Princes to the fourteenth-century heir and spare, the Black Prince and John of Gaunt. One of the team concurs, ‘in that you’ve got a really trusted sibling who is incredibly complementary to you in character as well as in outlook and belief and ideals and values and that sort of thing, which Harry undoubtedly is with William, who can share a lot of the burden and can apply different skills and talents at a very high strategic level to some of the issues you’re going to have to face. And there may be things that might not be quite appropriate for the top man to do but the one down could do.’

‘For instance, Prince Harry’s clearly proven area of focus is disadvantaged, forgotten children around the world. He’s magnificent with young children, not far short of brilliant – you can see a lot of his mother in that. As everyone recognises now, you’ve got a huge problem brewing with disaffected youth, right down to when they first get excluded from school at the age of five, and somebody has got to address that. In some ways it’s much easier for somebody who’s not elected, or politically driven – somebody who has continuity and empathy and no angle on it, which is one of the strengths of monarchy. Harry would be perfectly suited to take that burden, or share it with the King and his Queen, both internationally and domestically. He could take his passions to a strategic level. It could be linked to an international organisation like Save the Children or the Red Cross.

‘The Princess Royal’s model is an interesting one, where she has been closely involved with Save the Children and travels around the world in a very non post-Imperial way, being a fantastic ambassador. Extrapolate that perhaps a bit more, and put a statesmanlike ring to it, and that’s where I could see Harry ending up. If Prince William as King has got a younger brother who is doing that sort of thing, it could only be to his advantage and to the advantage of the country – particularly since they get on so well.’

The current Household’s vision is a long way into the future. Right now, both Princes are serving officers with careers of indeterminate length ahead of them, and both fit in royal duties, foreign tours, charitable appearances and their private lives around their jobs. William’s profile is higher than his brother’s at the moment because of the feel-good wedding and because Kate is glamorous and wears fabulous clothes and has finally filled the gap left by Diana. They are a golden couple who, as their tour of North America proved, have the world at their feet. They are global superstars; they are what every A-list celebrity dreams of. Their fame gives them power that opens wallets and doors, their presence brings a sprinkling of fairy dust to every gathering. But there are dangers. Fame is seductive – and destructive – as Diana discovered. It is also notoriously fickle and this couple needs to be opening wallets and doors and sprinkling fairy dust long after the A-listers have been passed over for younger models or have sunk into wrinkled retirement.