King Charles' Reported Deal With William & Kate About Media Attention Shows His True Colors

Though King Charles III has been in the global spotlight all his life, he has, quite famously, never had the easiest time sharing that spotlight with others. This first became a topic of public conversation shortly after his first wedding to Diana Spencer (per Marie Claire). After several years of rumors and tabloid headlines presuming Diana's public popularity had been an issue for Charles, Diana famously discussed the topic openly in her 1995 interview with the BBC. 

"The pressure on us both as a couple with the media was phenomenal, and misunderstood by a great many people," she said at the time (via Marie Claire). Diana went on to explain during that interview that when she and her husband would travel abroad, often the crowd was more interested in greeting her than Charles, though she would have been happy to "share" the attention. "Now, if you're a man like my husband," said Diana, "a proud man, you mind about that if you hear it every day for four weeks. And you feel low about it, instead of feeling happy and sharing it."

All these decades later, it appears Charles still finds discomfort in another member of his family shining more brightly in the public eye than he does, even if the person in question is his own son, William, Prince of Wales (via Express). 

It's no surprise that William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales, are adept at shining brightly in the spotlight, whether on a red carpet for an event or simply walking into a church to celebrate Christmas. In fact, according to recent polling in the United Kingdom, Prince William is seen in a positive light by 74% of his people, and his bride Princess Kate is close behind with 72% (via People). Meanwhile, King Charles himself is currently carrying only a 60% favorability ranking. 

And it appears the king is aware of the disparity. According to The Daily Beast's royal columnist Clive Irving, who spoke to Express about the tension Will and Kate's popularity has caused between the royal couple and King Charles, the monarch, his son, and his daughter-in-law have reached a new agreement to ensure Charles is getting more of his fair share of media attention. "They worked out a kind of accommodation of how much limelight each is going to be allowed," Irving told Express. "because Charles is always very jealous of other people stealing his limelight."

While the details of the supposed agreement have not been revealed, Irving suspects that the split is something like "maybe 40% (for the Waleses')" and the other 60% of media attention will belong to the king. "That seems to be the working arrangement," claimed Irving.