Prince William will reportedly change the monarchy with a radical plan which could see Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis encouraged not to become working royals.
Prince William’s reported plans to further slim down the Royal Family has been labelled as “worrying” by commentators.
Royal expert Richard Eden said he was left “worried” about the future of the monarchy.
News Corp columnist Angela Mollard says Prince William isn’t making the right decisions around slimming down the monarchy.
“I think to be too narrow is foolhardy,” she told Sky News host Caroline Di Russo.
Speculation has swirled about whether William, 42, will keep a slimmed down monarchy after his father King Charles chose the post-pandemic policy of his late mother Queen Elizabeth to only allow working royals on the balcony of Buckingham Palace at key events.
Charles’ policy was evident during this month’s Trooping the Colour where the balcony remained barren with only a few senior members appearing for the RAF fly-past, with junior members of the firm asked not to join.
William will return to duties on Thursday. Picture by Kin Cheung – WPA Pool/Getty Images.
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Now, royal expert Richard Eden on Thursday told Mail Online a friend of William’s revealed to him the heir to the throne was in “full agreement” with his father about the need for a slimmed-down monarchy.
“What he told me left me worried about the future of the monarchy,” Mr Eden said.
“He told me: ‘When the older members of the family retire, His Royal Highness won’t be inviting anyone else to become working royals. It remains to be seen if he will even want his two younger children to be working royals’.”
In a further development, a royal insider this week claimed William’s radical plans for the monarchy were true with Prince George set to play an active role in the future of the firm.
“The working assumption is that the younger two children will get on and do their own thing. They will be encouraged to not become working royals,” the source told the Daily Beast.
The publication also alleged another source disclosed William’s palace plot followed the impact of his younger brother Prince Harry’s widely publicised exit from royal life.
“It is no secret that William has been devastated by the destruction of his relationship with Harry.”
Prince William’s reported plans to further slim down the monarchy have left some Royal commentators concerned with some claiming they are worried about the Royal Family’s future.
News Corp columnist Angela Mollard claimed the move to further slim down the monarchy wouldn’t be the right decision.
“If you think about it, the monarchy is very slimmed down and the only people aged under 60 is Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, alongside Kate and William,” Ms Mollard said.
“I think to be too narrow is foolhardy.”
“Although he absolutely puts the blame on Meghan and Harry, he does of course also appreciate that the whole system, where one of your kids is less important than the other due to an accident of birth, had a massive part to play in what happened and how it happened.”
However, Charles’ sister Princess Anne in an interview last year said the term “slimmed down” to describe a monarchy was introduced during the days when there were more members of the firm, before the Sussex’s made a shock departure.
“It doesn’t sound like a good idea from where I’m standing, I would say. I’m not quite sure what else we can do,” she said.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down as senior working royals in 2020 and moved to the celebrity enclave suburb of Montecito in California with their two children Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three.
Prince Andrew was meanwhile stripped of his royal duties and HRH title by his mother Queen Elizabeth II in 2021 after settling a sexual abuse case brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
The Duke of York has since navigated his life as a royal family member living in disgrace.
He and the Sussexes were absent in joining the King, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children, Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester on the balcony at the King’s Birthday Parade last Saturday.
In contrast, 44 members of the firm were on the balcony for the monarch’s birthday in 2019.