King Charles ‘a real problem' and ‘man of yesterday' in contrast to Prince William

Royal author Clive Irving has assessed that King Charles remains less popular than Prince William and Kate among the British public.

Irving told Daily Express US that the Prince and Princess of Wales are currently fronting the monarchy's public image more prominently.

He observed Charles seems passive as King, lacking the energy and charisma to strongly project himself. Meanwhile, Irving described William as "a man of now."

He said: "William and Kate are the best part of the brand. They ought to be and are really the face of the brand more than Charles is. I'm suprised by how passive King Charles seems. He has an absence of energy. He doesn't seem to be able to project himself.”

"William is a man of now and Charles is a man of yesterday."

Irving drew comparisons to Queen Elizabeth's accession in 1952 at only 25 years old. In contrast, William is now 40 and much more mature than his grandmother was as a new monarch. 

He said: "It's important to remember that he [William] is already 16 years older than the Queen was when she came to the throne. He's very mature and much more experienced than she was.

"It's a different situation because his father's not dead. He's still there and he's a real problem in the sense that he's not a figure of the moment," he concluded.

He said: "The Head of State is supposed to be present in the lives of people if it's even subconsciously. He's not been able to make that breakthrough. People are largely indifferent to his presence."