London, Jan 3 (Inditop.com) Prince William has no plans to become “shadow king”, he would rather focus the next few years on developing his military career, says his press secretary.
Just two weeks before he embarks on his first foreign tour on behalf of his grandmother, the Queen, the 27-year-old has ruled out doing anything that would undermine the role of his father, the Prince of Wales, as heir to the throne, reports telegraph.co.uk.
Prince William’s visit to New Zealand and Australia, coupled with a leaked – but out of date – Treasury document has led to growing speculation over the last month that he was about to increase his role significantly within the royal family.
However, in a rare move, Prince William’s press secretary went on record to outline his immediate plans and quash misguided speculation.
“Prince William will not be a ‘shadow king’ – the possibility is not even being considered. Over the next few years, Prince William will be concentrating primarily on a military career while also slightly increasing his [charity] patronages and the other interests that he pursues,” the spokesman for St. James’s Palace told The Sunday Telegraph.
According to royal aides, Prince William is constantly aware of the sensitivities of being seen to encroach on his father’s role as heir to the throne.
“Prince William sees more closely than anyone the huge amount of hard work that the Prince of Wales puts in to trying to make a difference in this country,” said a senior source.
“The Prince of Wales is a hugely passionate man and Prince William wants the spotlight to fall on his father as much as possible. Prince William does not want to be put in a position before his time – before he is ready.”
Royal aides have given the newspaper an insight into the Prince’s future plans saying in 2010 he will focus largely on military flying. He will be based at RAF Valley in Anglesey while he embarks on the hardest and most challenging part of his course: further training to become a fully-operational search and rescue pilot.
Prince William, who as a future king would become the head of the Armed Forces, has been awarded his “provisional wings” after completing a year-long advanced helicopter pilot’s course, but he now needs at least eight months of further training before he fully qualifies.
If he successfully completes his training, Prince William is expected to work as a search and rescue pilot until at least 2013.
At the invitation of his grandmother, Prince William will embark on Jan 17 on a five-day visit to New Zealand and Australia.