What happens if Prince William commits a serious crime?

Prince William and the rest of the royal family continue to raise concerns over the internal affairs within  the palace with a slew of suspicious moves.

The Prince of Wales most recently pulled out of a reading at the memorial service for the late King Constantine of Greece, his godfather, due to “personal reasons,” prompting a brand-new round of speculations among the royal watchers.

Social media users are not above presuming the future King of England might be in a legal trouble after allegedly manhandling his wife Kate Middleton.

This begs the question, if in a hypothetical situation something like this were to happen, what would be Prince William's fate?

What would happen if Prince Willaim is charged with a serious crime?

According to the royal rule book, every member of the royal family except for the reigning monarch i.e., King Charles for now, can be charged with a criminal offence, tried by a jury and sentenced to jail by a judge.

Since William is the heir to the throne, his incarceration is a little more complicated as he would directly ascend to the throne if Charles passes away.

As a King, he would also be conferred certain legal privileges, for example, all criminal trials in the UK are in the monarch’s name and all prisoners are held “At His Majesty’s Pleasure,” indicating that the king has authority over their imprisonment.

In case of extreme circumstances, such as if William is found guilty of a serious crime, public pressure could ensue, threatening the institution of the royal family which would force him to abdicate rather than face any sort of legal consequences.

What is wrong with Kate Middleton?

For the unversed, Kate has been missing in action for over two months after her last public appearance with the royal family at Sandringham walkabout on Christmas eve.

Kensington Palace announced on January 17 that the princess underwent an abdominal surgery and will not undertake royal duties until after Easter.

Moreover, King Charles’ diagnoses with an undisclosed form of cancer was also made public earlier this month.

The only difference is, the 75-year-old monarch has been spotted out an about as he continues to get his treatment for the disease, while there has been no public sighting of Kate since the surgery.