Prince William on his future: 'I can't sleep at night' Prince William wants to be king

The strange conundrum of being royalty is that the work for which one has spent a lifetime preparing begins only after (hopefully) the death of a beloved parent. Prince Charles, for example, has spent 73 years of his apprenticeship learning how to be a monarch, and hopefully will continue to do so. The biggest and most important task of his life begins only with the death of his mother. [The same is true of Prince William, Prince Charles' successor, who was born to fulfill that role only after Prince Charles' death, which may be in the distant, distant future. William reminded Marie Claire reporter Nicholas Witchell via the Mirror that the milestone is not a positive one at all.

"I certainly wouldn't lie awake at night waiting and hoping for it. Because it means, sadly, that my family has moved on, and I do not want that."

The prince told Witchell that while he plans to be a "modern king" - evidence of which he showed recently while touring the Caribbean - his future as monarch is "not at the top of (his) priority list."

In 2017, William's brother, Prince Harry, expressed a similar view when referring to the heavy responsibility and weight that comes with being a future monarch, but he will not be assuming that role - he was third in line to the throne at his birth in 1984 - but William's children He is now sixth in the line of succession, following the births of Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

In an interview with Newsweek magazine, Harry asked, "Is there anyone in the royal family that you would like to be king or queen? He added that no one is looking forward to the death of any member of the family, but that he will "carry out his duties at the appropriate time."

Many, many months from now, George will ascend to the throne, a role he is slowly embracing, thanks in part to the deep preparation of his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

"George is just beginning to understand his destiny," says royal expert Duncan Larcombe, OK! "But Kate is planning her journey.

Larcombe said he was particularly struck by seeing George in a suit alongside his parents at the Euro finals last summer.

"People were asking why we didn't put him in an England shirt 'like a normal eight-year-old,'" Larkom said.

"William seemed enthusiastic about the idea, but Kate, a former commoner, turned him down. She had taught George that he needed a different approach "on duty." ...... He has to learn to put on his royal armor."