A rare royal double act from King Charles and Prince William as rift with Prince Harry drags on

When King Charles handed over a senior military title to Prince William the other day, it was more than a symbolic passing on of a role.

As the Prince of Wales became colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps, it was also a personal moment rife with symbolism for the monarch and his heir, and hinted at the family dynamics at play right now in the House of Windsor.

Such transitions are routine from one generation to the next, although there is a sense that for Charles and William, they are unfolding at a faster pace.

“We’re seeing some of the kinds of transitional activities that we associate with the last decade of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II happening quite quickly during the reign of Charles III,” Toronto-based royal author and historian Carolyn Harris said in an interview.

For Charles, Harris suggested, there is a sense his reign is a period of transition between the long reign of his mother and the next one of his son.