No plans to crown Prince William Britain’s ‘Shadow King’

LONDON - Britain’s royal family Sunday denied reports that Queen Elizabeth II plans to fork out a “substantial part” of her public duties to her elder grandson in order to prepare him for the throne ahead of his father.

Buckingham Palace described as a “total and utter fabrication” a Mail on Sunday report that the 83-year-old British monarch was grooming Prince William, 27, as a “Shadow King”, bypassing her son Prince Charles.

The newspaper said a confidential briefing note written by finance ministry officials showed that plans are at an advanced stage to ease the strain on the Queen and her 88-year-old husband.

But a royal spokesman said that while Prince William was gradually taking on more engagements, there were no plans to bypass Prince Charles.

“Prince William is gradually undertaking more public engagements as he takes on more patronage. However, his focus remains for the foreseeable future on his military career,” the spokesman told the BBC.

The Mail on Sunday said a censored section of the government document states that “from next year, it is expected that HRH The Prince William will spend a significant part of his time on official engagements . . . we need to put the necessary provisions in place in anticipation of that.”

The newspaper said: “The leak will add to speculation that the Queen believes William, rather than Charles, represents the best long-term interests of the monarchy, and will raise new questions about the timing of William’s long-anticipated engagement to his girlfriend Kate Middleton.

It said royal sources have privately let it be known that the Queen would like other family members to bear much of the burden of her duties during the Diamond Jubilee in 2012.