Prince William's Gemini-Cancer Cusp
what the heir's astrological chart reveals about his inner world
While recording a recent episode of Off With Their Headlines,
and I stumbled into a very important, very unserious royal realization: Prince William is a cusp baby.
His birthday (June 21st) falls right on the line between Gemini and Cancer. And when I looked up his birth time (9:03 PM BST), it confirmed our initial suspicions: astrologically speaking, William just barely clears into Cancer territory. But that doesn’t mean Gemini has no influence.
If you’re into astrology (or, like me, into whatever weird cultural context helps decode your personality), cusp signs are a fascinating angle to consider. You're considered to be “on the cusp” of a second Zodiac sign if you're born about three days before or after the change in signs. Born in that liminal space between seasons, cusp babies often display traits of both signs bordering their birthday. And in William’s case, the overlap is striking.
This newsletter is offered in the spirit of good fun; it’s not a full birth chart breakdown, and there’s so much more that plays into a person’s astrology than just their sun sign. But as you’ll see, the tension between William’s Gemini and Cancer traits lines up eerily well with his current public persona…and the recent headlines swirling around him.
Let’s break it down.
Gemini: The Communicator
Dates: May 21 – June 20
Element: Air
Modality: Mutable
Ruled by: Mercury
Core traits: Curious, adaptable, talkative, witty, intellectual, dual-natured.
Gemini is ruled by Mercury—the planet of wit, speech, and adaptability. This is the sign of the thinker and the talker, someone who processes the world through information and charm. At their best, Geminis are quick-witted, curious, and media-savvy.
It’s easy to imagine how these traits might have helped Prince William craft the image he’s carried for the last twenty years. A Gemini influence might explain his polish in public appearances, his ability to come off as personable when necessary, and his long-running efforts to seem like the “modern,” “relatable,” royal heir.
Even the Waleses’ Instagram-perfect family image feels a bit Gemini-coded: it’s polished, smiling, and constantly managed. But Gemini also has a reputation for duality. This is the sign of the twins, after all, and Geminis can get caught up between their inner truth and outer presentation. At their worst, they can be indecisive, performative, and prone to saying what they think you want to hear, not what they actually believe. In other words, there’s often a gap between what a Gemini shows…and what they actually feel.
And if recent reports are to be believed, William’s behind-the-scenes personality can be…less mild-mannered than the polished king-in-waiting we’re meant to see.
We’re told he’s tightly wound and prone to outbursts. He’s also hyper-aware of how he and his family are perceived. William’s curated public image (however steady, thoughtful, and modern) comes in sharp contrast with stories of a man who struggles with control and trust…especially when it comes to those he views as betraying the Firm or the Family.
Cancer: The Protector
Dates: June 21 – July 22
Element: Water
Modality: Cardinal
Ruled by: The Moon
Core traits: Protective, nurturing, emotional, loyal, private, moody.
Now, enter Cancer. In Prince William’s case, born on June 21, 1982, at 9:03 PM BST, he is a Cancer sun by most systems—but with definite Gemini influence lingering, which could be enhanced from other placements in his chart. (Full disclosure: I haven’t yet gotten to, nor do I particularly plan to, do a full chart analysis for William).
Ruled by the Moon, Cancer is emotional, protective, and deeply tied to home and family. Individuals with Cancer placements can read as loyal, sensitive, intuitive, and deeply committed to protecting the people they love. When wounded or insecure, they can become guarded, prickly, and downright controlling. Are things starting to feel familiar?
William’s deep concern for his family's privacy? Cancer energy. His growing distrust of certain media outlets, despite being raised to court them? Cancer. The reports of an “incandescent” temper, of needing to manage how everyone around him performs, speaks, or behaves? That could be Cancer, too, especially one who’s constantly under scrutiny and trying to hold it all together.
Even his more rigid, buttoned-up approach to duty feels Cancerian. It’s not coldness; it’s a shell, and one he rarely lets the public peek behind, at that.
But William isn’t the only royal Cancer in the Wales family. His mother, Princess Diana, was also a Cancer, born July 1, 1961.
Where Diana wore her heart on her sleeve, William seems to have turned inward. It’s hard not to wonder whether his quiet protectiveness is, in some ways, a response to the public pain he witnessed in his mother’s life as a result of her emotional openness.
Interestingly, William’s firstborn son, Prince George, was also born under Cancer, on July 22, 2013 at 4:24 PM. George arrived just hours before Leo season officially began, making him the second Cancerian British heir in a row.
It’s too early to predict how he’ll carry himself as he grows up, of course, but if the stars have anything to say about it, George may well inherit this same tendency to guard his inner world behind a carefully managed public front. Like father, like son?
Living on the Cusp
The Gemini–Cancer cusp is sometimes called the “Cusp of Magic” because it blends air-sign intellect with water-sign intuition. Those born on this cusp are said to possess a unique blend of Gemini's intellectual curiosity and communication skills, with Cancer's emotional depth and sensitivity. But that magic can come with a certain tension…and expectations that aren’t easy to live up to. Straddling two modes of being (one a performer, one a protector) means that Gemini-Cancer cusps are wired for both connection and control.
A knack for polished performance with an underlying sense of self-preservation? That’s William to a T, if you ask this humble commentator.
He’s expected to be the relatable heir and the unshakable future monarch. He’s expected to modernize the monarchy and guard its oldest traditions. (We actually break this down further on Thursday’s forthcoming episode of OWTH!) And perhaps most of all, he’s tasked with leading a profoundly public institution while simultaneously yearning for privacy on a deeply personal level.
So what does William’s cusp status really tell us about the man behind the titles? Maybe not much. After all, humans are so much more than any one “system” of traits can ever contain.
But it does provide an entertaining framework for understanding the contradictions we see in the Prince of Wales today.
Gemini wants to be understood. Cancer wants to feel safe. And William? Well, he seems like a man who’s trying (albeit sometimes awkwardly) to achieve both objectives.