King Charles’ Slimmed-Down Monarchy ‘Dangerously Underweight’: Historian
Before becoming king of the United Kingdom, Charles III shared he wanted a “slimmed-down” monarchy. However, this desire appears to have run aground with fewer working senior royals than ever. With Charles and Kate Middleton both recovering from illness, the front line of the House of Windsor is “dangerously underweight,” says historian Gareth Russell.
King Charles’ desire for a slimmed-down monarchy has its consequences
King Charles’ desire for a slimmed-down monarchy was in response to public demand for a more modern institution with lower costs. However, has cutting back on the number of working royals helped the king during this time of crisis within the monarchy?
Charles is not participating in many forward-facing events at the current time due to his cancer diagnosis. His daughter-in-law, Kate Middleton, is recovering from abdominal surgery and has not yet returned to her role as a working royal.
His brother, Prince Andrew, is no longer working after being barred from official duties by Queen Elizabeth due to his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. And Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left their roles as working senior royals behind in 2020.
In an interview for Times Radio, Gareth Russell claims, “It has shown a really unfortunate light that the slimmed-down monarchy is dangerously underweight. Prince William is now the only working man in the royal family under the age of 60 and over the age of 15.”
“There are only two women who fall into that same bracket. His Aunt Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, and his wife Catherine Middleton,” Russell continued. “It was never supposed to be this underweight.”
“[Charles’ cancer diagnosis] meant that all of a sudden, Camilla Queen Consort had to do a lot more,” Russell claims. However, “This isn’t sustainable from a simple biological perspective.”
He concludes, “In 20 years, it might only be William, Catherine, and their children [as senior royals]. They could make that work, but those are monarchies of much smaller countries.”
“They can’t continue like this. You have seen a monarchy buckling under pressure not of its fault.”
Fewer working royals puts pressure on Kate Middleton to return to work
Currently, the only working royals are Princess Anne, Camilla Parker Bowles, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, and Prince William. King Charles and Kate Middleton are currently experiencing health issues and haven’t been working consistently for several months.
Historian Gareth Russell believes that Kate has a right to return to work when she can. However, he says Kensington Palace “needed to be clearer” about her medical issues instead of keeping the princess under wraps as she recovered.
This secrecy led to the photoshopping incident that rocked the royal family over the past week. Under pressure to appear in a photograph after remaining in hiding since her January surgery, Kate Middleton was pictured with her children in a digitally altered photograph.
However, the image was rejected by leading photo sites, who issued a kill notice on the print due to it being digitally manipulated. Therefore, the palace’s attempt to squash any negativity surrounding the Princess of Wales had the opposite effect.
“It’s quite dodgy photoshopping, no disrespect to the Princess of Wales. However, to her credit, she admits she ‘messed up’ and is ‘sorry for the confusion,'” Russell said.
He continued, “Many people in her position or comparable positions would have blamed the staff. Blaming the men in the grey suits is something of a Windsor specialty. So it’s very much to her credit to apologize.”
When will Kate Middleton and King Charles return to full-time work?
Kate Middleton will reportedly return to her work as a senior royal sometime after Easter. This year, the religious holiday falls on March 31.
There have been no further updates from Kensington Palace regarding a concrete return date for the Princess of Wales. She continues to recover from abdominal surgery at the home she shares with Prince William, Adelaide Cottage, in Windsor.
As for King Charles, he is easing back into work. He most recently met with a handful of veterans of the Korean War to mark the 70th anniversary of the conflict. Charles may also attend the Trooping the Color ceremony, which takes place in June.
