Palace Denies Prince William Being Groomed As 'Shadow King'
Dec. 12 2009, Published 5:46 a.m. ET
Is Prince William being groomed as a so-called 'Shadow King?' -- meaning he's being given many of the Queen's official duties instead of them going to his father, Prince Charles?
Buckingham Palace is denying those reports coming out of UK's The Daily Mail on Sunday.
The Daily Mail claims Queen Elizabeth, 83, wants to prepare her grandson for the day he becomes King.
It says secret financial documents prove more money is to be spent on William, the 27-year-old heir to the throne.
It said the revelations were made in a secret briefing note written by Chancellor Alistair Darling's Treasury officials about new financial arrangements for Prince Charles and his two sons.
Key paragraphs, disclosing the reason for the changes, were blacked out, the Daily Mail reported.
But the newspaper said it had obtained an uncensored version of the document which confirms that the Queen is grooming William as a 'Shadow King' in order to ease the strain on the aging Queen and on her 88-year-old husband Prince Philip.
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But, a spokesman for the Royal Family said there were no plans for Prince William to take over for Queen Elizabeth.
In denying the report, the Palace also stressed the Queen had not cut back on her duties.