Prince William’s Slimmed-Down Monarchy Could Affect Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte

When he said shrink the monarchy, he really meant it.

Prince William may already be worrying royal insiders with his plans to slim down the monarchy, but according to a new report from The Mirror, the changes he wants to make could affect his children. The outlet reports that William is considering some "radical" changes to the monarchy which include excusing his younger children, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte, from royal duties entirely. Currently, Charlotte is third in line to the throne and her younger brother is fourth.

"The working assumption is that the younger two children will get on and do their own thing. They will be encouraged to not become working royals," a former palace aid shared with The Daily Beast. "The option isn't there for George, of course, but the children have been kept at arm's length from royal life. They are exposed to the minimum possible publicity, and that is a deliberate strategy to let Charlotte and Louis choose their own destiny."

Currently, the monarch's siblings do play a major role in royal life, as Princess Anne—King Charles's sister—is seen as the hardest-working royal. Prince Edward, Charles's younger brother, also has his share of duties. Before he was basically stripped of his responsibilities, Prince Andrew also had many public-facing appearances.

With Kate Middleton out of the fold due to her chemotherapy treatment and Charles taking on a lighter load, the Firm has fewer royals to call on for big events. William is considering a plan where current working royals aren't replaced when they can no longer help represent the monarchy, pointing to the financial burden put on the general public.

Insiders point to Prince Harry as a possible reason for William's proposals, noting that he doesn't want his kids to feel like spares.

"If you look at the spares who have made it work, you only really have Edward and Anne," another source added. "Margaret's life was pretty miserable. Harry, we know all about. I'm sure William and Catherine don’t want history to repeat itself."

Princess Anne opened up about the idea, expressing that she thought it was not a great move for the royals to be making.

"I think the 'slimmed-down' was said in a day when there were a few more people around…[to] make that seem like a justifiable comment," she said in an interview with CBC News. "It doesn't sound like a good idea from where I’m standing, I would say. I’m not quite sure what else we can do."

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