With reporting by Phil Boucher
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Modern Dad William (with George in Australia in 2014 and with Charlotte in Canada in 2016) has put his paternal bond on display. “He will be a touchy-feely monarch,” says royal historian Ingrid Seward. “He will be more accessible— he has to be for the modern age. There will be more of a movie-star quality to the monarchy and less of the mystique.”
Meghan and Harry: Signs of an Engagement Suits star Meghan Markle, 36, may have hinted at marriage when she spoke about her 15-month relationship l ti hip with ith Prince Pi Harry, H y, 33, to Vanity Fair, saying, g “There h will ll b be a time wh hen we will have to come forward and p present oursellves and have stories to t tell.” Royal wedding buzz willl only increase with Harry’s H Invictus Games for wou unded and injured service s members, which kick off S Sept. 23 in Meghan’s adopted hometown off Toronto. “It looks as though they are very close, but for a royal couple the idea off engagement and marrriage is an even bigger b step than ffor the rest of o us,” says Lacey.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: DAVID MOIR/GETTY IMAGES; MICHAEL TRAN/ FILMMAGIC; CHRIS JACKSON/GETTY IMAGES; MODE/AKM-GSI
enjoyed fatherhood but left much of the day-today school drop-offs and sports practices to Diana, William has assumed a more involved role. With Kate homebound because of her battle with hyperemesis gravidarum, or acute pregnancy illness, William has taken the lead—and unlike the Queen, who regretted putting her duty ahead of her family as a young mother, William has said his priorities are clear: “I want to bring my children up as good people with the idea of service and duty...but if I can’t give my time to my children as well, then I worry about their future.” In private, “there’s a lot of support for each other and a lot of love,” Benjamin says of William and Kate. “They’ll slip in a joke about Prince George ‘People misbehaving or being tricky. see how They recognize that [their authentic children] are growing up and in a challenging time, because of social media and heartfelt he is. They the way the world is. They are doing whatever they can connect’ to protect them.” —FAMILY FRIEND This fall,, as William conJULIA SAMUEL tinues with th h his k key initia-tives—including homelessness, conservation and d mental health—his task force on ccyberbullying veryy much has the future in mind. Tesssyy Ojo, j a memberr of the committee and the CEO off the nonprofit fi Di-ana Award, says of William’s direective, “One of the that we d don’t want things he says when we meet is th to look back in 20 years and reggret that we didn’tt bitious.”” do enough. He wants us to be amb nceptt Ambition is a strange con n inwhen it comes to monarchy, an ward stitution that only edges forw d Wilwith the death of a loved one. W ke liam is certainly not lying “awake waiting” for the day he’s King, hee told the BBC. The challenge, hee said, is that “the institution has to modernize and develop as it goes along.” When the throne does finally beckon, his decades of experience no doubt will serve him well. During his Sept. 14 outing to the Guinea rGap Leisure Centre near Liverpool, “people felt they had a lott of tleyy time with him,” says Mary Tetl of the British Sub-Aqua Club, tthee He’s group that hosted the visit. “H definitely a man of the people.”