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As drama reigns all around him in London this week, Prince William has kept his composure. From the London Welsh School to Eagle House, he has carried out engagements with steady focus, projecting the same coolness that has long defined his public persona.
But that very calmness — the quality that has helped him navigate the pressures of royal life — has earned him an unflattering new tag. The future king, some say, has a “ruthless streak”.
It’s a phrase gaining traction as the rift with Prince Harry continues to dominate headlines. But like so many labels applied to the royals, it’s simplistic and deeply unfair.
How the ‘ruthless’ narrative took hold
The idea first gathered momentum last year when royal biographer Andrew Lownie suggested William was “more ruthless” than King Charles when dealing with threats to the monarchy, including the Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor scandal.
Soon after, royal editor Roya Nikkhah told Times Radio that William “does hold a grudge” and “does choose sides”, adding that he remembers when someone picks the other one.
From there, the notion of an out‑of‑control temper began to snowball. Author Christopher Andersen claimed William was capable of “great bellowing tantrums”, citing a former Highgrove staffer who alleged he had witnessed shouting matches between William and the King.
“William has a huge, booming voice,” the staffer said, as reported in Andersen’s new book Kate! “Much louder than his father’s, so it’s not something you soon forget.”
The seeds for these stories were arguably planted by Prince Harry himself. In Spare, he described an alleged incident in which William “grabbed” him by the collar and “knocked” him to the ground, causing an injury.
Since then, tabloids have eagerly framed William as volatile, including recent reports claiming Harry expected his brother to “fly off the handle” during his return to London.
Why the label doesn’t hold up
Royal commentator Victoria Arbiter believes the characterisation is not only exaggerated but fundamentally flawed.
“I think it is unfair,” Arbiter tells me. “Any number of sources are saying William has done xyz. Nobody in William’s circle is talking. They are fiercely loyal to him. So we have to take all of these accusations with a pinch of salt.”
That loyalty didn’t form by accident. It formed because William has always known who he can trust. And when that bond is broken, Arbiter says, he responds decisively.
“If you let him down, that trust is broken, and he has to think about that, because first and foremost, he’s protecting his family. His family is his foundation, and he will do whatever he can to protect that.”
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams argues that William’s so‑called ruthlessness is not only justified but necessary.
“William is our future king,” he told the Daily Mail. “Thank goodness he has a ruthless streak, as this is needed in today’s world, especially with the monarchy among its most closely watched institutions.”
Harry’s legal case has quietly vindicated William
For years, Harry has accused William’s office of briefing against him and leaking damaging stories.
It became one of the central pillars of Harry’s narrative: that the heir was protected while he and Meghan were sacrificed.
But this week, Harry’s own legal battle with Associated Newspapers has revealed behaviour that undermines those claims.
Charlotte Griffiths, the well‑connected journalist who was once within Harry’s friendship circle, revealed details about their relationship after Harry’s claims of illegal information‑gathering were dismissed by the High Court.
Griffiths said that in the summer of 2025 a close adviser to Harry and Meghan invited her to lunch at The Ivy.
“As a result of information given to me at that lunch meeting, I placed a series of stories in The Mail on Sunday that portrayed the couple in a positive light,” Griffiths said. “This included a front‑page article, which ran in July, suggesting that Harry and Meghan were attempting to rebuild their relationship with King Charles.”
Griffiths further disclosed that Harry’s aide tipped her off about a private meeting between staff of the Duke of Sussex and an aide to the King, which her newspaper was able to photograph.
In other words: Harry’s own team was feeding information to the press.
“In a development which speaks volumes for their integrity, ‘sources close to the Sussexes’ then briefed The Daily Telegraph that they were ‘very frustrated’ that the pictures of the Royal Over‑Seas League gathering had ended up in The Mail on Sunday — suggesting, quite falsely, that the Palace was responsible for a grotesque betrayal of trust,” Griffiths explained.
For William — who has spent years insisting his office does not leak — the revelation is quietly vindicating. It shows the dynamic Harry described was not as one‑sided as he claimed.
A prince protecting his future
The revelations about Harry also reframe the “ruthless” label. If William has drawn hard boundaries, it may be because he has watched, repeatedly, how proximity to the royals can be exploited, even by those closest to them.
William has spent years being attacked and vilified by the person he was once closest too. Now, he chooses to put his energy into what he values most, his marriage to Princess Catherine, protecting their three children and preparing to be King.
Perhaps that’s the real story. William is not a prince hardened by grudges, but a man who has learned — through trauma, betrayal and the relentless scrutiny of public life — that boundaries are not only necessary, they are essential.
He is not so much ruthless, as someone who had simply moved on and put his brother in the past, even if Harry can’t accept that.
“It’s easy to criticise him and say, ‘Oh, ruthless William, that’s horrible, he’s done this, that and the other’,” Arbiter says. “But I think it’s survival. I think he has to. And I think if anyone else were in a similar position, they’d probably do exactly the same.”
Read more expert opinion and analysis in WHO’s The Royal Verdict with Kylie Walters here.
