Calamity William and the courtiers who won't say 'no': The REAL reason our 'workshy' Prince keeps blundering from one public relations gaffe to another

Back on the Royal beat: William and Kate were back on Royal duties on Friday, attending a mentoring programme for young people

I just don’t get it!’ It was February 2014 and Prince William was venting his frustration with his aides in customary style. His carefully planned announcement about the need to curb illegal poaching had produced less than flattering headlines – not least because William and Harry had only just returned from a trip to Cordoba in Spain to shoot deer and wild boar.

Of course, as William pointed out – seething with incomprehension – the two things were completely different. The timing was unfortunate, and eminently avoidable, whatever the technical rights and wrongs. But William, it is said, is rarely wrong.

The episode was just the start of a lengthening series of PR blunders culminating in last week’s furore over the family’s secret skiing trip to the exclusive French resort of Courchevel.

And some are pinning the blame on a new, young generation of courtiers and advisers thought to be incapable of saying ‘No’ to the headstrong 33-year-old.

It is a rather worrying turnaround for the Duke of Cambridge and his photogenic wife, a couple who could once do no wrong.

There was another media storm last March when the Duke visited the Xishuangbanna nature reserve in China. Had he read The Mail on Sunday, he would have known that some elephants were being made to play football, while others were seen with legs in shackles.

1) Off-piste: William faced a backlash after the release of pictures of the Cambridges’ secret – and luxury – skiing trip

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More recently William found himself in hot water when he gave an address at the Foreign Office and unwittingly made comments interpreted as pro-Europe – a suggestion immediately denied.

And the Duchess of Cambridge’s decision to edit the American online newspaper The Huffington Post last month rather than a home-grown equivalent was also questioned by a press already riled at their lack of access.

2) Pie in the sky: Days before the ski trip, William was accused of being work-shy after saying his pilot job prevented Royal duties

All of this, however, was dwarfed by the criticism when it emerged that William carried out only 122 official engagements last year. In comparison, the Queen, who is about to turn 90, carried out 341.

When the MoS reported there were concerns at a senior level, Kensington Palace went into damage limitation mode pointing out that the Duke, who works part- time as an air ambulance pilot, is restricted from working on his rest days. Embarrassingly, the Civil Aviation Authority insisted that William could in fact work on his days off and said the Duke’s staff were ‘confused’.

Royal insiders say the turning point in William’s fortunes came when the Cambridges and Prince Harry set up their new office at Kensington Palace two years ago. The move coincided with the departure of his former private secretary, Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton.

A distinguished former SAS commander, Lowther-Pinkerton, 55, had spent a generation as a reassuring presence by the side of Princes William and Harry.

Crucially, it is felt he was willing to stand up to the young man and William turned to him for advice right up until the birth of his first child Prince George in 2013, and made Lowther-Pinkerton godfather.

3) A right huff... Kate caused a stir by giving access to the US site The Huffington Post

There are some who say he is sorely missed. Today, William’s Private Secretary and team of aides are all, like him, in their 30s. One friend of the Royal Family says: ‘There is a feeling that perhaps there isn’t someone in William’s court who will put their foot down and say no if they think William is making the wrong decision.’

‘William has changed and so have his aides,’ says another source. ‘William needed Jamie for advice and counsel because he was younger, but he’s a grown-up man now with his own ideas and opinions. He has a clear idea of how he wants to steer his PR machine.

‘He has a good team around him, but the point is they all listen to William and rarely question him when sometimes William does need to be questioned.’

4) Elephant in the room: If William had read The Mail on Sunday, he could have avoided visiting China’s Xishuangbanna nature reserve

Exposed: Our story revealed animals were mistreated

At Kensington Palace, the team of aides include Communications Director Jason Knauf, 30, an American who dealt with the near collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland as its spin doctor. He was appointed in 2014.

The other senior figure is William’s popular Private Secretary Miguel Head, 37, who used to be the Palace’s head of communications.

‘William was involved in the interviewing process when they appointed a new communications director and he liked Jason Knauf,’ says a source. ‘Others who were interviewed had big ideas to bring to the table, but William wanted to do things his way.’

And Knauf, perhaps wisely, was willing to oblige.

Then, last week, just as it seemed things appeared to be settling down, Kensington Palace released pictures of the Cambridges on a luxury vacation on the French slopes. The images, taken by the Press Association, went ‘viral’. And so did the backlash.

The press was filled with a fresh slew of critical headline pointing out that ‘part-time Wills’ had sloped off despite having carried out just four engagements so far this year.

5) The boaring details: William is joined by brother Harry at an antipoaching event... but the pair had just returned from a trip shooting deer and boar

No wonder Kensington Palace has announced a flurry of new engagements for the Duke and the Duchess. While the Palace would argue these were arranged months in advance, his aides must surely be relieved to have their ‘principal’ back on Royal duties.

Obliging: American Communications Director Jason Knauf

Last week, William carried out two days of engagements with Kate to promote mental health. Tomorrow William, together with his wife and Prince Harry, will join the Queen at Westminster Abbey for a Commonwealth Day Service. Perhaps, though, the temptation to shoot the PR messengers should be resisted. Because the person pulling the strings is William himself.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal it was William who decided not to follow the Royal tradition of posing on the slopes in favour of a private photoshoot with PA’s Royal photographer John Stillwell.

The pictures were carefully selected by the couple before being released once they were safely back in Britain. And it seems likely that the release date was chosen by William himself, against advice from some in his team. He was apparently delighted to have kept the press in the dark.

According to Ingrid Seward, Editor of Majesty magazine: ‘His aides are very young and very good, but the problem is William has never really taken advice and has a tendency to think he is always right.’

With his diary of Royal duties now filling up, including foreign tours, there are no doubt sunnier times ahead – particularly if he takes the brave decision to find someone to stand up to him.