Revealing stories about the inner workings of the royal family making their way to the press is nothing new.

Just recently, headlines buzzed with speculation after photos surfaced of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s press secretary meeting with King Charles’ communications chief—prompting rumors of a potential ‘peace summit’ between the Sussexes and the Palace.

But back in 2009, a far more controversial story emerged. The Mail on Sunday uncovered documents suggesting that Prince Charles—then the heir apparent—might never become King. Instead, his son Prince William, only 27 at the time, was allegedly being groomed to become a “shadow king.”

A Transfer of Power?

In her royal biography The Making of a Royal Romance, author Katie Nicholl explained that the documents revealed William and Prince Harry were expected to take on an increasing number of royal engagements on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. To Nicholl, this was a sign that a gradual “handover of power” was taking place.

“The revelation suggested that William was being lined up as a ‘shadow king’, and fuelled speculation that the crown could skip a generation when the Queen dies,” she wrote.

The Palace quickly responded, reportedly horrified by the suggestion, and firmly denied any plans for William to take the throne before his father. William’s press office also issued a statement to dismiss the rumors: “William will not be ‘shadow king’.”

Still, Nicholl noted, “there’s no smoke without fire.” Regardless of the denials, the records showed that both princes were indeed taking on a greater royal workload.

William: The Reluctant Heir

Interestingly, the person most opposed to the idea of William becoming heir sooner than expected was William himself. According to Nicholl, he was deeply uncomfortable with the idea and “could not think of anything worse.” He was content to support his grandmother, the Queen, but didn’t want to be rushed into a full-time royal life.