New photos of Kate Middleton and Prince William could spell disaster for King Charles, a royal expert has claimed.
The Princess of Wales and her husband, William, travelled to the Queen's Norfolk estate of Sandringham on Thursday, September 15, to thank the public for their condolences, and were met by huge crowds offering flowers at the remote palace.
Images show the future King and Queen smiling and talking to royal fans, who had journeyed from across the country to catch a glimpse of the Waleses - and the pics could mean trouble for the new King Charles.
The late Queen's eldest son has been on the throne for just over a week, ever since Her Majesty tragically died last Thursday, September 8.
And although reception of the new King and Queen Consort Camilla has so far seemed positive, the King has already had a number of small but embarrassing public blunders - mostly involving fountain pens.
Royal expert Daniela Elser said the King was already floundering just a week into the job, and that these photos showing the British public's famous love for Will and Kate could give him pause for thought.
Writing for news.com.au, she said: "Charles clearly needed a bit of a break, a chance to soak in the tub with some Molton Brown bubble bath and to re-read the Magna Carta to double-check it still limits royal authority.
"It’s only one week into the job he has waited more than 50 years to do and he has already managed to have not one but two tanties caught on video."
She added: "If ever there was a moment that should make Charles choke on his afternoon fruitcake, it’s this.
"Charles’ time to shine might have arrived, but if these new images of William and Kate are anything to go by, he could well find himself on the precipice of being eclipsed. Whoops.
"Polling for years has told the same story: Brits prefer William."
The critic added that a survey done by YouGov in the run-up to the Platinum Jubilee showed that three-quarters of Brits are Will fans, while just over half have a positive view of his dad.
She was also quick to point out that getting to Sandringham to see the Prince and Princess would have been no easy feat for many royal fans.
"Let me be clear here: This is rural Norfolk we are talking about, 180km away from the capital, not Windsor which is just outside central London," she pointed out, noting that the sheer number of people who made the difficult journey shows the popularity of the newly-appointed Waleses.
"The closest train station, Kings Lynn, is still a roughly 40-minute bus ride away from the 8000-hectare royal estate."
Elser's damning observations come amid calls for the new King to abdicate within two years and pass the throne over to his eldest son.
Commentator Conor Friedersdorf told the Atlantic: "A more consequential use of Charles’s reign would be to rule briefly and abdicate at 75 - the age when British judges are compelled to retire from the bench - while touting the importance of passing the throne to Prince William in his son’s prime rather than his dotage."
He added: "If [Charles] goes on to rule long enough to put Prince William in that same position, history may remember this as the era when modern medicine transformed the British monarchy - but not for the better."
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