AMANDA PLATELL: Selfish William’s in serious trouble. The chickens are coming home to roost… with grave consequences

For a brief moment at Sunday night’s Baftas we saw the return of the Prince William we knew and loved, handsome in a velvet tuxedo beside a resplendent Kate.

Yet our future King just had to ruin the moment. He couldn’t resist the urge to make it all about him. When he was asked if he had watched the award-winning British movie Hamnet, about the death of Shakespeare’s young son, he said no – it would be too traumatic for him.

‘I need to be in quite a calm state and I am not at the moment,’ he explained.

Which meant, predictably, that all the next day’s headlines were about William’s pain, shamefully and self-indulgently overshadowing the staggering success of the movie at the awards, including that of its leading lady Jessie Buckley who won the Bafta for best actress.

The next day, it was briefed by ‘palace sources’ – and not denied since – that William ‘fears for his father’s health’ as the King continues to fight cancer.

It seems to me that Wills was playing the ‘sick dad’ card to cover his clumsy, selfish behaviour on the red carpet.

I have no doubt William is deeply concerned about his father’s health. But some might feel he has a funny way of showing it. While Charles carried out 533 royal engagements, including gruelling visits to Canada, Italy and Poland despite still undergoing cancer treatment, his eldest son managed a paltry 202.

Where was William, 43, when the King, 77, needed him most to share the load of royal duties?

The answer is that, for the last part of the year, he was huddled away at his new ‘forever home’, Forest Lodge, buried deep in Windsor Great Park in 150 acres of private fenced-off land and surrounded by 24/7 security guards.

Following the arrest of Andrew, formerly known as Prince, over allegations of misconduct in public office in relation to his connections to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, many have speculated that this could be the end of the monarchy.

I am not one of those doomsayers. But I believe that for the monarchy to have a future, especially among Generation Z, who increasingly don’t see the point of a Royal Family, William needs to up his game, start appearing in public more and cut the whingeing.

I’m sorry, William, but your future subjects are not losing sleep worrying about your precious mental health.

Unlike my generation, the young in this country do not supinely accept that the royals are above reproach. Gen Z’s mantra is ‘accountability’.

How does our reluctant future King square to them the fact that he has a private income of around £23million a year from the Duchy of Cornwall, which is worth £1billion and covers 130,000 acres across 23 counties? He automatically took ownership of the estate when Queen Elizabeth died – no death duties or inheritance taxes like the rest of us – and, unlike his father, he refuses to declare what taxes he actually pays.

When the day comes that William takes the throne, he will inherit the Duchy Of Lancaster, which generated a £27.4million profit last year. Meanwhile, the Sovereign Grant, which provides the royals with annual funding from the British Government – paid by taxpayers – stands at £132million.

While King Charles has proved himself to be a kind, compassionate, thoughtful and tirelessly hard-working royal, the same cannot be said of his eldest son.

I have a feeling the nearly 1million young people not working and on benefits, not able to get a job or on the housing ladder and dogged by university debts, will fail to be convinced that ‘workshy Wills’ provides good value for money.

So, your Royal Highness, let me tell you what you can do to impress this lost generation.

First, show you’re serious about cutting back the excess and slash some of the 500 royal employees. Strip the hangers-on Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice of their undeserved titles. Ensure the succession continues only with your children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, which will then be passed on to George’s children. And no one else.

Take away Harry and Meghan’s royal titles, including those of their children Archie and Lilibet – the Sussexes have not for years been working royals and just shamelessly profit off, and tarnish, the royal name.

And come clean like the rest of us and declare the amount of tax you pay on your millions.

Insiders say William is frustrated because the ‘Andrew problem’ is likely still to be ‘on his plate’ when he becomes King – and that he and Kate have been ‘itching’ to say something, but are restrained by the police investigation.

That hasn’t stopped many others – including King Charles – from making their feelings clear. The probe into Andrew may take months if not years to conclude. It’s time to take action now.

It’s a shame that William was too emotionally traumatised to watch Hamnet. If he had, this particular line may have resonated with him: ‘What is given may be taken away, at any time.’