Prince William, Kate Middleton lead new generation of royals
With the death of our beloved Queen, it’s time for the younger royals to step up and Prince William and Kate Middleton are ready to fill the void.
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The next - and some say most loved generation of royals - Prince William and his wife Kate will step into their most prominent roles, in critical support of the new king following the death of the Queen.
With the ascension of Prince Charles to the throne to replace his mother, Prince William, Charles’ eldest son will now inherit the title of Prince of Wales and with that new duties and tasks the 40-year-old has never before experienced.
However the first and perhaps the most emotional, will be bestowed to 40-year-old Kate currently known as the Duchess of Cambridge but now to be known as the Princess of Wales.
It’s a title which has been poignantly dormant since 1997 when Prince William’s mother Princess Diana – the beloved so called “people’s princess and queen of hearts” – died in a car accident.
With the new King Charles, 73, and his wife Queen Consort Camilla, the family will have to turn to the dynamic younger royals for more onerous foreign visits and goodwill appearances, as well as more patronages and charitable events.
This will mean Prince William and Kate and their three children – Prince George, 9, now second-in-line to the throne, the confident and charming Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4 – will undertake more international travel, both for charity, and at the request of Britain’s Foreign Office.
And no doubt Australia, for which Prince William and Kate have so publicly declared their love, will again be on the cards very early into the new reign.
They will also take on more patronages, and up their charity and official duties, as well as attend official functions such as state banquets at Buckingham Palace.
PRINCE WILLIAM AND KATE
Not that a poll was needed to confirm her popularity, but in April last year more than three quarters of the people of Britain declared Kate, or Catherine as she may be required to be formally known, would make a good Queen.
The survey came on the 10th anniversary of her wedding to Prince William, and after the fallout from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s infamous Oprah Winfrey interview. It was also following the death of Prince Philip as questions swirled of how, or even if, the Queen could carry on.
Not surprisingly more than 30 per cent said it was better the Duchess of Cambridge was a “commoner” with no aristocratic background while another 59 per cent said it made no difference anyway.
But the poll result was none-the-less telling that despite the widely understood inability for her and Prince William to leapfrog Prince Charles and Camilla to the throne, they represented the future of the monarchy at a time when many have questioned whether “The Firm” belongs to another generation and had little future once the Queen passed.
As now King-in-waiting, Prince William’s official duties will increase 10-fold with only frontline appearances in place of community meet and greets as he shares centre stage with his father.
A SLIMMED DOWN MONARCHY
In 2021, Prince Charles set his sights on a “slimmed down” royal family, a move both the Queen and Prince Philip supported. Princess Anne and Prince Edward were in the core six and so too Prince William and Kate.
Just the ease in which the Cambridges communicate and connect with the public and the younger generations through their charities and appearances flag their warmness between them and the public, fitting for now the next in line to the throne.
It wasn’t always like this.
But the couple’s natural evolution, maturity and a coming of age that will now see the monarchy continue despite the passing of the Queen, has gone on quietly in the background as scandals continued to hammer other parts of the family including with the Queen’s reportedly favourite son Prince Andrew and his own string of recent disasters.
PRINCE ANDREW
Prince Andrew was forced to step away from royal duties in 2019 after his disastrous BBC interview in which he was questioned about his friendship with notorious billionaire paedophile to high society Jeffrey Epstein.
He stepped even further away three years later when he paid his way out of a civil suit over an alleged sexual assault during his time with Epstein.
The Duke of York, whom a whole city campaigned to have him stripped of a title using their name, conceded he had “let the side down” by staying in the home of the convicted sex offender.
The pair were infamously photographed walking through New York’s Central Park together in 2010, two years after Epstein’s conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
“It was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices and I let the side down, simple as that,” Prince Andrew said of his continued friendship with the late American billionaire.
In the train wreck of an interview he continued his judgment was coloured by “my tendency to be too honourable” and then came his final humiliation in having to pay out millions of dollars to avoid court proceedings.
One of Epstein’s accusers Australian-American Virginia Roberts Giuffre claimed she was forced to have sex with the prince three times in 2001 and 2002 when she was just 17 years old.
The claims were contained in court papers, which Prince Andrew denied.
He also continued to defend his friendship with Epstein and why he had “no regrets” about it.
He disappeared after that BBC interview with his first royal appearance coming in 2021 at the funeral of his father Philip, sitting closest to the Queen albeit at a Covid-19 safe distance in the church.
He was largely absent from the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations in June and he is rarely seen in public.
Prince Andrew will never return to royal duties, even under the watchful eye of big brother Charles, after settling a civil case in the US in 2022 with Giuffre for a rumoured $A22 million.
PRINCE HARRY
The other prodigal son, Prince Harry, who has been in self-imposed exile in the US since 2020 when he and wife Meghan effectively quit the UK, will make a show of unity by spending some time in the UK but by mutual consent is also unlikely to fully return to the royal fold.
His very public spat with his brother Prince William and father and his shaming of how he has perceived his family has carried itself since before he was even born, has been enough to ensure he remains cast only in the limelight of American celebrity.
He had made it clear he wants nothing to do with the royal court – “a mix between the Truman Show and being in a zoo” according to the Duke of Sussex – but will look to reforge links with some of his charities. There had been talk of the pair losing their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles, as they had already long lost the HRH titles, but that is unlikely although they themselves may look to relinquish that title thereby freeing the people of Sussex from their charge and allowing someone else to represent the area’s interests.
You simply can’t suggest that your father and grandfather had both failed as parents – particularly so soon after the death of Prince Philip - and expect to still be an active member of the royal family.
Meghan might well eventually look to ironically seeking the elevation of their son Archie whom she has publicly bemoaned had been denied a royal title which she said was “in tandem” with pre-birth questions on how dark his skin might be.
Archie and Lilibet will be able to use the “HRH Prince” and “HRH Princess” titles respectively when Prince Charles formally becomes king, the lack of title prior was simply protocol more than a racial oversight. Then came Prince Harry’s multimillion dollar ghost written “tell all” memoir in 2022 from which no-one in the family was going to be happy about.
PRINCE EDWARD
The Queen’s youngest son Prince Edward and his wife Sophie had markedly stepped up in popularity and royal duties, particularly since the death of Prince Philip and are expected again to take a lead now.
Prince Edward was born third in line to the throne but dropped to outside the top 12 in line as those above him had children, notably Prince William and Kate’s son Prince George and his sister Princess Charlotte, who is now fourth in line.
But the once low-key couple Prince Edward and Sophie took on greater royal duties after Prince Philip’s death and prior to the Queen’s passing had been told that would gradually increase as they were to be in the central six royals.
Prince Edward will assume the Duke of Edinburgh title and with that a natural boost in duty. Out too Prince Andrew’s daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, labelled the pampered princesses.
PRINCESS ANNE
Princess Anne has long been one of the hardest working royals, largely of the less glamorous patronages, and remains core to the royal family’s future. Her no-nonsense style and devotion to duty is like that of her mother. Before the Queen died, Anne came in for some rare public praise from her mother after attending to 12 major events in four days.
Like Prince William and Kate, a British poll saw Anne’s popularity rise to 70 per cent approval by the public in May 2021, her highest ever.
The idea of a slimmed down royal family was first touted by the Queen in 2012 when on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for her diamond jubilee celebrations there was just core members, Prince Charles and Camilla, Prince William and Kate, and Prince Harry there for the official photograph. Prince Harry is no longer in the picture but the others are now the future and will see the royal family survive this latest passing.
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