Prince William has to carry the heavy burden of being the heir to the throne while caring for his sick wife, Kate Middleton, and three young children.
He is also facing the stress and anxiety of the fact that his father, King Charles III, is a cancer-stricken 75-year-old who has not yet celebrated the first anniversary of his coronation.
However, according to several historians and royal biographers, Prince William and his spouse, Kate Middleton, are set for more challenges ahead.
One of the potential challenges they will face could arise from Princess Anne, adding to their already complex situation.
In an interview with Us Weekly, royal historian Gareth Russell told the media outlet that King Charles’s decision to slim down the monarchy might have looked like a great idea a few decades ago.
However, in 2024, it is a catastrophic plan that will leave Prince William and Middleton sinking in an avalanche of work, engagements, and appearances.
The expert stated: “The slim-down monarchy sounded a very good idea when there were so many working royals back in 2000, 2001, but through various factors it is now something that needs to be rethought. When conversations about a condensed monarchy began, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret were alive. That’s how long ago it was.”
At the moment, the slim-down monarchy looks unhealthy and problematic. King Charles and Middleton can no longer carry their weight as senior royals because of significant illness.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have moved to California, and Prince Andrew has become persona non grata because of a humiliating sex scandal.
The author stated: “If you are to use the metaphor, the Monarchy is underweight at this stage; it was never intended to reach the levels that it did. It was always anticipated that you would have [King] Charles III with three working siblings and two working children and their wives, which would be a sustainable footing for the Monarchy going forward.”
The commentator explained that Prince William is the only senior “working royal man under the age of 60,” and when Queen Camilla and the hardest working member of the Royal Family, Princess Anne, begin to scale back their duties and eventually retire, “there is going to be a seriously underweight monarchy when potentially you would just have King William and Queen Catherine dealing with it, doing all of it until their children come of age.”
The author believes that King Charles and Prince William should start looking for other family members to become working royals because the looming scaling back of the seniors is a ticking time bomb for the monarchy.
