Prince William goes incognito — and aims to send more signals about future for House of Windsor

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He was, by all accounts, unassuming and friendly.

Prince William went incognito in central London this week — or as incognito as someone second in line to the throne can go — selling copies of a magazine in support of those who are homeless, long-term unemployed or trying to avoid going into debt.

The efforts by William to sell copies of The Big Issue came a few days after events marking Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee wrapped up.

According to media reports, some who met William selling the magazine were struck by his easy manner and the contrast between his low-key appearance on the street and the high-profile celebration of his grandmother's seven decades as monarch that drew international attention.

As much as those events were focused on the Queen and her dedication to her role since 1952, they were also about sending signals for the future of the monarchy, which is increasingly focusing on those directly in the line of succession.

The closing image of the Jubilee last Sunday, from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, saw the 96-year-old Queen surrounded only by her heir, Prince Charles, and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, along with William, his wife, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

"This is the future of the Royal Family," Katie Nicholl, royal editor for Vanity Fair, told CBC'S Adrienne Arsenault after the Jubilee events came to a close. "This is four generations of the House of Windsor: the Queen and her three successors, three future kings."

For William, who turns 40 on June 21, this all comes a few years after rumblings about whether he was "work-shy" and as keen as he might be about the role he has.

William has said he takes duty very seriously, and any sense of a lack of keenness that surrounded him seems to have ebbed.

"It's clear that Prince William is now very much at the core of the monarchy, and those 'work-shy' comments are definitely in the past," Craig Prescott, a constitutional expert at Bangor University in Wales, said via email.

With Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, having stepped back from official duties, Prescott said it's really the role of William and Kate "to ensure that the monarchy continues to engage with younger generations."

"They are the only senior royals undertaking public duties that are under 55 or so," Prescott added, noting that Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, are 58 and 57, respectively.

Prescott said it was a surprise to see William, apparently with little security, selling The Big Issue, and initially doing it incognito.