As of: February 7, 2024, 1:51 p.m
By: Susanne Kröber
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King Charles wanted to slim down the monarchy, but his cancer diagnosis and Princess Kate's absence pose problems for the British royal family.
London – Times were different when King Charles III.
(75), then still in his role as Prince of Wales, made plans to modernize the monarchy.
The goal was for only a few members of the Royal Family to work full-time for the Crown and receive a salary for this.
But this austerity measure now seems to be falling on the feet of Charles, who is suffering from cancer.
“Prince William under enormous pressure”: Who can step in for King Charles and Princess Kate?
Two of the four most important “working royals”, King Charles and Kate Middleton (42), are currently out.
It is unclear when King Charles will be able to attend appointments again after his cancer diagnosis.
Princess Kate will probably not be able to return to public engagements until after Easter after her abdominal surgery, according to Kensington Palace.
Prince William (41), who actually wanted to take a break until Easter to look after Kate, now had to break it off early.
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An absolute ordeal, especially for Prince William.
His wife Kate and their three children, Prince George (10), Princess Charlotte (8) and Prince Louis (5), actually need him now, but dad Charles also urgently needs his help.
“Prince William is under enormous pressure as his father suffers from cancer and his wife recovers from abdominal surgery.
And he is expected to take on further engagements,” royal expert Richard Fitzwilliam told
MailOnline
.
“People forget that the royals are human, in fact they are all too human, as we just found out.”
Who actually are the “Working Royals”?
Queen Elizabeth II (96, † 2022) and Prince Philip (99, † 2021) worked tirelessly for decades and were still alive when Charles planned to slim down the monarchy.
After the death of the Queen and the exit of Prince Harry (39) and Meghan Markle (42), the circle of royals who represent the crown has shrunk significantly.
In addition to King Charles and Queen Camilla (76), they include Prince William, Princess Kate, Princess Anne (73), Prince Edward (59) and Duchess Sophie (59).
Other full-time members include Richard, Duke of Gloucester (79) and his wife Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester (77), Edward, Duke of Kent (88) and Princess Alexandra (87), who, however, rarely appear due to their age .
Princess Anne questioned the idea of a slimmed-down monarchy as early as 2023
In addition to the tireless Princess Anne, her younger brother Prince Edward and his wife, Duchess Sophie, Princess Beatrice (35) and Princess Eugenie (33) could also be more involved, according to royal expert Phil Dampier.
However, her disgraced father Prince Andrew's (63) involvement in the Epstein scandal would "make this more difficult", Dampier said, according to
MailOnline
.
Shortly before King Charles' coronation on May 6, 2023, Princess Anne had already
expressed her concerns in an interview with the Canadian broadcaster
CBC .
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The absence of King Charles (center) can hardly be compensated for by the other members of the British royal family.
(Photomontage) © IMAGO/i Images/Parsons Media
The idea of a “stripped-down monarchy” came about “when there were a few more people there,” said Princess Anne at the time.
“From my point of view, that doesn’t sound like a good idea.” Now the British royal family has to move even closer together to protect King Charles.
A first step: Prince William has ended his break after King Charles' cancer diagnosis.
Sources used:
royal.uk, dailymail.co.uk, cbc.ca