Prince William Is the ‘New Rock’ of the Royal Family, Royal Biographer Says: ‘A Reincarnation of His Late Grandmother’

After a rollercoaster year, Prince William has emerged as the royal family’s “new rock,” according to a royal biographer.

In a piece for The Independent published Dec. 28, Dr. Tessa Dunlop said that the Prince of Wales, 42, is “a reincarnation of his late grandmother [Queen Elizabeth],” also calling the future king a “steadfast anchor who changed it up with designer stubble,” referring to William’s much discussed facial hair throughout the latter half of 2024.

“The nation fell in love with [Princess] Diana’s firstborn all over again,” Dunlop wrote, adding that “Naysayers who doubted William’s mettle have been forced to rethink.”

The dawn of 2025 was no doubt a welcome sight for William, who in November called 2024 “brutal”: “It’s been dreadful,” he said while in Cape Town, South Africa for the fourth iteration of his Earthshot Prize Awards. “It’s probably been the hardest year in my life.”

2024 saw both his wife, Kate Middleton, and his father, King Charles, diagnosed with cancer; his aunt Sarah Ferguson, too, announced a second cancer diagnosis, and Thomas Kingston, the husband of Lady Gabriella, died suddenly as a result of a “traumatic wound to the head” at age 45 on Feb. 25.

Additionally, his uncle Prince Andrew’s association with an alleged Chinese spy brought further embarrassment to the monarchy five years after the Duke of York’s disastrous BBC Newsnight interview did the same.

But Dunlop, author of Elizabeth and Philip: A Story of Young Love, Marriage and Monarchy about Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, said all was not lost for the royal family last year: “Without doubt, the rebirth of the Waleses as the country’s number one couple has moved our monarchy into a new space,” she wrote. “These days they appear to be a double act, even when apart.”

Of Kate’s cancer diagnosis — which she announced publicly on March 22 via a video message, following up with another video message on Sept. 9 that she had completed chemotherapy — Dunlop added that because of her husband’s support, “Kate has not walked alone.”

In the same November interview from Cape Town, William opened up about his royal role and, after being asked about whether it was more restrictive having greater responsibility and importance in the monarchy now that he was Prince of Wales (a title he took on in September 2022), he responded, “It’s a tricky one.”

“Do I like more responsibility? No. Do I like the freedom that I can build something like Earthshot? Then yes,” he said. “And that’s the future for me.”

William added, “It’s very important, with my role and my platform, that I’m doing something for good. That I’m helping people’s lives and I’m doing something that is genuinely meaningful. So, the Earthshot is a culmination, if you like, of all that put together.”

In her piece, Dunlop said of William’s presence in the institution that “William insists he wants to provide compassionate leadership amid a dangerous new dawn of showy nationalism. To help him perform that onerous task, it is vital the King leans in.”

Of King Charles, she added, “He may never be the star turn his late mother was, or that his son is fast becoming, but Charles could make a name for himself as a monarch who oversees much-needed root-and-branch reform.”

Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

While Kate’s cancer treatment has ended, the King’s will continue into 2025, with palace sources confirming on Dec. 20 that the treatment is moving “in a very positive direction.”

As the one year anniversary of Charles’ own announcement about his cancer approaches on Feb. 5, aides have signaled that the King, 76, will continue treatment as a “managed condition.”

Source people.com