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Topics: Royal Family, Prince William, King Charles III, UK News
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Royal Family, Prince William, King Charles III, UK News
The Prince of Wales plans to abandon a royal practice previously prioritised by King Charles III, an expert has said.
According to journalist and commentator Richard Eden, 42-year-old Prince William will likely turn his back on the 'streamlined monarchy' that Charles, 76, has focused on in recent years, when he eventually ascends to the throne.
Previously, members of Royal Family were expected to attend vast quantities of official engagements per year. In fact, The Guardian claimed that 4,000 over a 12-month period was considered the norm a decade ago.
Following the 2022 death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, however, King Charles reportedly vowed to operate on a considerably smaller scare.
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This was partially due to the staggering expenses that royal endeavours across the globe would previously rack up, and also likely due to both The King and the Princess of Wales (William's wife, Kate Middleton) having been diagnosed with cancer last year.
Many royal experts previously predicted that William follow in his father's footsteps and have fewer working members of the monarchy.
Apparently, however, William's incoming reign could see Charles' money-saving morals thrown out of the window, being that his team is already rather small, especially following Prince Harry's resignation from official duties and move to the States.
"Prince William, like his father, has always favoured slim-down monarchy as the future, and what that looks like being now is just William and Catherine and their children," podcast host Richard Eden explained on his Palace Confidential podcast this week.
"But, how on Earth could they justify all the wealth and palaces for that one nuclear family?"
The royal expert continued: "From what I'm hearing is that Prince William is starting to see the value of his cousins and what, in the long term, they could give."
According to Eden, without his brother on hand to assist with royal engagements and appearances, the father-of-three plans to rely on his cousins, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, with whom he and Harry maintained a close relationship growing up.
If the pair do share some of William's responsibilities, however, they'll need to be paid for the job.
"Obviously we had Queen Elizabeth who was supported throughout her reign by her cousins, such as the Duke of Kent, Duke of Gloucester, and the ones I'm writing about this week are Princess Beatrice and Eugenie," Eden went on.
"They're doing more and more. They're private duties really, in terms of charity work, but I think Prince William and his father are noticing this and appreciating it."
The royal expert went on to discuss 35-year-old Princess Eugenie's attendance at a garden party that the Wales' hosted recently, believing it sets an example for what the future structure of the monarchy could look like.
"So I think we should be able to expect some future announcements, so I think it is an exciting time for them," he added.
Another royal journalist, Rebecca English, can also envisage William depending more and more on cousin Zara Tindall (Princess Anne's daughter), who, despite not being a working royal, has made an increasing number of official public appearances in recent years, as per OK!.