There’s a growing narrative among royal watchers that Prince William, as he moves closer to being King, may find himself with fewer family members able or willing to share the load of royal duties. With fewer royals being seen at engagements, The Daily Mail reports Prince William is “running out of royals”.
Christopher Wilson writes: “The return of Prince Edward and wife Sophie from their hugely successful State Visit to Japan serves as a reminder to the future king that when his time comes, there’s almost nobody left to send abroad on these vital goodwill missions.”
He further adds: “Once, there was a raft of royals who filled out the 25-yard wide Buckingham Palace balcony. Slowly one by one, they’ve drifted away.”
He adds: “In 2011, there were twelve major royals and their families sharing public-facing duties. Between them they covered 3,874 engagements, flying the flag both at home and abroad.
“But by 2024, the last figures available, the personnel had dropped by two down to ten – but the overall attendance figures had shrunk by almost half to 2,168.”
Some senior royals are ageing or stepping back. As they do, there are fewer people to take over their previous duties. Notably, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle officially stepped back as working royals in 2020. After Prince Andrew’s disgraced interview with BBC Newsnight, his role has also been curtailed.
However, William’s genius tactic has been to call upon his cousins for events like Buckingham Palace garden parties. Princess Eugenie for instance, attended a Buckingham Palace Garden Party in May this year, hosted by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The garden party was one of the annual events held to recognise public service, where the Royal Family hosts around 8,000 specially invited guests.
Despite his father Charles’s ruling that Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 35, should not be allowed to represent the Royal Family in public, as they are not working royals, William might have been able to reverse that decision.
The journalist further said: “The future king could call upon his cousin Zara Phillips – by far the most popular of the ‘non-royal royals’ – but she has a successful business to run.”
He added: “Would Zara really want to give up the freedom of her glamorous freewheeling life she so clearly enjoys with adoring husband Mike Tindall?”
But Zara and Mike’s combined net worth is believed to be around £30 million, mostly stemming from sponsorships and their previous sporting careers – as they focus on their own endorsements.