William Won't Have Two Royals Take Full-Time Roles When He's King — It’s Not the Yorks or Sussexes
Prince William shares King Charles’s vision for a ‘slimmed-down’ monarchy. He reportedly wishes to have fewer working royals to modernize the Firm and ease the burden on public funding. While Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle have already stepped back from public duties, two other members will not be granted full-time roles under William’s reign. According to royal author Rob Jobson, Mike Tindall and Zara Tindall won't become working royals because they do not wish to be confined by the expectations of such roles.
Jobson explained on HELLO!’s A Right’s Royal Podcast that Mike and Zara did not want to limit themselves. He said, "For example, Zara has been very popular. You'll see her at Royal Ascot, you'll see her doing her own thing. She won't want to be limited commercially by people saying, 'Oh, she's a royal, she's working. She shouldn't be getting this deal or that, too.' That would just complicate matters." The author believes that their decision not to be working royals would be an ‘informal’ discussion with William. He argued, "The ones who are working are on the payroll. I don't think that's going to be the case in terms of the unofficial side of things. I think it'll be very much more informal."
Former royal butler Grant Harrold also offered insight into why Mike and Zara are not keen on joining the Firm. According to The Royal Insider, he explained, "They’re not currently working royals – of course, we see them at events and supporting the King, we always will, but as for increasing their presence, I don’t think they will. If anything, the King is trying to scale back, so I don’t think there would be any need for them to pick up more duties." Like William, while Charles may not make Zara and Mike working royals, Harrold revealed that the King dotes on the Tindalls' likable and quirky nature.
Reflecting on their humble nature, Harrold gushed that Mike and Zara were least interested in the Firm’s pomp and pageantry. He stressed, "Zara was the very first royal that I ever looked after…I see them out and about, I see them in the supermarket." He also noted that their lack of interest in taking on formal royal engagements is part of what makes them so likable. Indeed, when asked if he would ever consider being a Prince, Mike once pointedly replied, "I would definitely turn that down."
As for William’s slimmed-down monarchy vision, royal expert Richard Palmer revealed that the Prince is allegedly looking to ‘work smarter’ and save more money than Charles. He wrote for The i Paper, "A smaller number of working royals doing fewer engagements should mean fewer staff – the couple [William and Kate Middleton] currently employ 68, about half the number who worked for Charles at his peak as Prince of Wales." He added that the Prince's smart approach means a real-term drop in the cost of the monarchy, and possibly savings for the taxpayer.