As of: February 7, 2024, 1:42 p.m
By: Susanne Kröber
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King Charles' slimmed-down monarchy poses problems for the British royal family after his cancer diagnosis and Princess Kate's absence.
London – Times were different when King Charles III.
(75), then still in his role as Prince of Wales, developed modernization plans for the monarchy.
He wanted only a limited number of members of the royal family to work full-time for the crown and be paid for it.
Now this cost-cutting strategy seems to be boomeranging for Charles, who is suffering from cancer.
“Prince William under enormous pressure”: Who will represent King Charles and Princess Kate?
King Charles and Kate Middleton (42), two of the four most important “working royals”, are currently unavailable.
It is uncertain when King Charles will be able to attend official appointments again following his cancer diagnosis.
Kensington Palace announced that Princess Kate "is not expected to be able to return to public engagements until after Easter" following her abdominal surgery.
Prince William (41), who originally wanted to take a break until Easter to look after Kate, now had to end it early.
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This represents an enormous challenge, especially for Prince William. His wife Kate and their three children Prince George (10), Princess Charlotte (8) and Prince Louis (5) actually need his support.
But his father 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 expressed doubts about 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 could "complicate" this, according to Dampier, according to
MailOnline
.
Shortly before King Charles' coronation on May 6, 2023, Princess Anne expressed
her concerns in an interview with the Canadian broadcaster
CBC .
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After King Charles' cancer diagnosis, Princess Anne and Prince William (right) are even more challenged.
(Photomontage) © IMAGO / Avalon.red/Parsons Media/PA Images
The idea of a “stripped-down monarchy” came about “when there were a few more people around,” Princess Anne explained at the time.
“From my point of view, that doesn’t sound like a good idea.” Now the British royal family has to work even more closely together to support King Charles.
A first step in this direction: Prince William ended his break after King Charles' cancer diagnosis.
Sources used:
royal.uk, dailymail.co.uk, cbc.ca
Editor Susanne Kröber wrote this article and also used applications based on artificial intelligence (AI).