Prince Charles is still preparing for the day when he would finally ascend the throne. But unlike in the years past, it seems that his ascension is getting closer and closer. After all, he has been taking over some of Queen Elizabeth’s royal duties and engagements because the monarch reportedly has decreased mobility at the age of 96.
Even though Prince Charles has not publicly shared his plans as king, royal experts have predicted that he would want to have a slimmed-down monarchy. This means that only a few members of the royal family will work as senior royals.
Before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle quit The Firm, they were supposed to be part of Prince Charles’ slimmed-down monarchy. But now that they are no longer considered senior working royals, Prince Charles is relying more on other members of the royal family like Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
Prince Charles Will Rely Increasingly On Prince Edward, Sophie, Countess Of Wessex
While speaking with Express, royal historian Ed Owens said that Prince Charles will continue to rely more on the Wessexes. And even as early as now, the royal couple is already falling into the Queen’s orbit.
“I get the impression that increasingly that the Wessexes are being drawn into the Queen's orbit. Because she sees them as somebody that can help Charles and someone who can keep the work of monarchy going,” he said.
Prince Charles’s Slimmed-Down Monarchy Means Fewer Engagements For The Royal Family
But with or without their help, the royal family might be forced to be selective when it comes to their public engagements. After all, a slimmed-down monarchy means Prince Charles would be relying on fewer people to help him out.
“A downsized monarchy can only do so much. A downsized monarchy only has so many people fronting it. It only has so many royal personalities undertaking the work of monarchy. It just depends how serious really Charles is about that now,” he said.
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According to Owens, Prince Charles will continue to put climate change at the forefront of his agenda as the future king of Britain.
“He has been very on the money with that. He has been talking about it since the seventies. Finally, he would seem to be the right monarch for this time because climate change isn’t going away. His views are very in keeping with the need to do something about the environment if we are going to keep the planet safe. He has always had this platform. Naturally, because climate change has become such a topical issue, he now finds himself with a platform to speak out on this massive global issue,” he said.
Prince Charles’ Desire For A Slimmed-Down Monarchy Poses Constitutional Risks
During a recent interview, Dr. Craig Prescott said that Prince Charles’ desire to have a slimmed-down monarchy could have constitutional risks.
“I think there are potentially great risks with slimming down the size of the royal family because as Bob [Dr. Robert Morris] says, the question is: What is the monarchy meant to do? But I think that the other question is: What is it going to stop doing? And you’re going to create, perhaps, some disappointment at the things that then get left out. There was already a story I read in the newspaper — I don’t know how much credence it has — saying that BAFTA was disappointed that Prince William didn’t attend the film awards on Sunday in person,” he said (via Express).
At the time, a spokesperson for Prince William said that he wouldn’t be attending the event due to some diary constraints. As such, Prescott believes that having a slimmed-down monarchy means that a similar incident can happen more frequently.
“And on a day to day basis, if you have a smaller Royal Family, that are going to be able to do less, and the organizations of which members of the Royal Family are patrons of, or involved with, will have to do less and are potentially spreading themselves more thinly — perhaps creating disappointment. And if I was in BAFTA, and my patron couldn’t attend regularly for the biggest night of the year for my organization, I might at some point think: maybe we look for another patron. So, I do think there are potential risks with slimming down the size of the royal family,” he said.
If the reports are true, Prince Charles’ slimmed-down monarchy would include Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and in the future, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
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