Prince William Will Likely Not Make 'Spares' Charlotte and Louis Working Royals, Says Close Pal
Prince William reportedly plans to modernize the monarchy by stripping away some of its age-old traditions once he takes the throne. In line with his vision, he aims to enforce a ‘slimmed-down monarchy’ with fewer working royals. Recently, a friend of William told royal expert Richard Eden that the Prince’s alleged plans could mean that his youngest children, 'spares' Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, may never be promoted to working royals. They added that William is reportedly in ‘full agreement’ with King Charles on this approach.
Writing for the Daily Mail, Eden revealed that the close friend claimed, "When the older members of the family retire, His Royal Highness [William] 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." Ultimately, the Prince is allegedly planning to craft a small but meaningful royal family. "That is what William wants," his friend allegedly told Eden, "He sees the small European monarchies as the model for the future." Earlier, Eden had also claimed that Charlotte, in particular, would be expected to get a full-time job, rather than be a working royal.
In his Palace Confidential newsletter, Eden explained, "From what I hear, the Prince and Princess of Wales want Charlotte to grow up with the expectation that she will get a job and not be a full-time royal. If Charlotte is to get a job and not be an active member of 'The Firm,' she needs to be ready to step into the breach, if needed." However, royal author Sally Bedell Smith disagrees. She told The i Paper, "I would imagine Charlotte will be part of the picture. I’m not so sure about Louis." Historically, siblings of the monarch have automatically been given royal roles.
A source close to the family had previously explained how Princess Anne could play her part in giving Charlotte a working royal role. They shared, "Charlotte will potentially become the Princess Royal one day when her father, Prince William, is the monarch. This has many royal analysts excited, especially since the current title holder, Anne, is believed to be giving her great-niece a crash course in how to carry herself in the role." That balance of being polite but firm is something that Anne has mastered over the decades. The insider added that they couldn’t imagine a better role model than Anne, who doesn’t put a foot wrong and still has her opinions respected.
Royal experts have also suggested that the Prince and Princess of Wales are planning to rip up the royal playbook when it comes to what’s expected of Charlotte and Louis. That means not automatically pushing them toward full-time royal roles unless they choose to pursue them. Author Ingrid Seward wrote in The i Paper, "It’s not like it was in Charles’s youth. Nowadays, children make their own decisions. It’s just so different from when even William was brought up. I think children have immense choices now that they didn’t have even 15 years ago."