Prince William 'paving the way forward' after unprecedented 'assault on the monarchy'

Prince William has taken up the responsibility of finding a way forward for the British monarchy after several "assaults" on it in the past few years including some by his own brother Prince Harry.

Royal historian Robert Lacey, who released the book "Battle of Brothers" about the feud between the royal siblings earlier this year, has said that William is stepping up after the challenging few years for the royal family. The author wrote about the future King in People magazine, saying that his role within the royal family has never been more critical given the recent family scandals and the death of his grandfather Prince Philip, who was Queen Elizabeth II's Prince Consort for 69 years.

"Following the April death of Grandpa [Prince] Philip, William has stepped up to become one of the top three family figures (after grandmother Queen and father Prince Charles), adding the ginger of youth to royal strategy. It's a crucial inflection point — this heir-in-waiting is under pressure like none before in recent history," Lacey explained.

The royal expert recalled that William's mother Princess Diana had famously suggested in her 1995 Panorama interview that he will become King over his father after the Queen passes. However, the Duke of Cambridge is now standing side by side with the monarch and the heir apparent to deal with the current crisis.

In addition, he and his wife Kate Middleton, the future Queen consort, have become very important figures in the monarchy way before their time due to the recent exits of three senior royals. While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle quit their positions and relocated to California due to their differences with Buckingham Palace, while Prince Andrew was forced to quit after a public uproar over his association with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

While dealing with the new challenges, William has adopted his grandmother's strategy of "never complain, never explain," which has earned him favour from the British public. A recent UK poll rated him at 80% popularity, second only to the Queen at 85%.

On the other hand, he also inherited a more outspoken side from his mother. The royal recently condemned the BBC in strong words after an investigation concluded that Martin Bashir had used deceit to obtain the Panorama interview with Diana. "The BBC's failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation that I remember from those final years with her," he had said.

Lacey believes that with William leading the charge, the recent reports about monarchy ending by the time it's his son Prince George's turn to be King will turn out to be false. He explained, "After nearly five decades of studying the British monarchy I have learned to be wary of words like 'survival.' Headline writers thrive on crises that 'threaten the very existence' of the crown. The British throne has survived beheading, exile and enough scandal to stock entire libraries. Now a new leader — William, not Charles — is paving the way forward."