Prince William is ‘paving the way forward’ for the British monarchy, claims royal author 

Prince William ‘has stepped up’ following the Duke of Edinburgh’s death and is the one ‘paving the way forward’ for the British monarchy, rather than his father Prince Charles, a royal expert has claimed.

Robert Lacey, British author of the best-selling book Battle of the Brothers, said the Duke of Cambridge, 39, is now one of the top three figures in the Royal Family.

He told People: ‘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.’

The author added: ‘Following the April death of Grandpa [Prince] Philip, William has stepped up to become one of the top three family figures, 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.’

The historian’s remarks come amid great success for William as his new book about his ambitious Earthshot prize has topped the charts as it was released today. 

Earthshot: How to Save Our Planet is said to be the definitive book of The Earthshot Prize, and aims to inspire a decade of action to repair our planet, with the Duke of Cambridge penning the foreword. 

It’s the first publication in Duke of Cambridge’s decade-long global environmental competition.

The Prince of Wales attends the No Time To Die world premiere at Royal Albert Hall on September 28 in London

Described online as ‘a book of action and optimism to save our planet’, it immediately shot to the top of the Amazon bestseller list in several categories including Animal Habitats and the Environment.

The book was co-authored by Colin Butfield, former executive director at WWF, and multi-award-winning producer, director Jonnie Hughes, and has been released alongside a landmark five- part BBC One TV series in the autumn, created by Butfield and Hughes. 

Launched by Prince William and the Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2020, and inspired by President Kennedy’s ‘Moonshot ‘, The Earthshot Prize is the most ambitious and prestigious award of its kind. 

It aims to discover and scale the best solutions to help repair our planet over the next 10 years. 

The historian’s remarks come amid great success for William as his new book (pictured) about his ambitious Earthshot prize has topped the charts as it was released today 

Every year from 2021 until 2030, The Earthshot Prize will find and reward inclusive solutions to five ‘Earthshot ‘ goals: protect and restore nature; clean our air; revive our oceans;  build a waste-free world; and fix our climate.

The book highlights the urgency of the environmental challenges facing the world while also providing readers with ‘inspirational case studies of the incredible solutions happening globally to repair our planet’.

The creative heads behind the phenomenally successful documentary David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet and long-time advisors to The Earthshot Prize, the two co-authors have unparalleled access to the people, science and imagery behind the project.

Their significant TV credits include The Hunt, Our Planet and A Life on Our Planet.