Royal family
King Charles has opted for a slimmed down monarchy ever since he took the throne. However, with Charles and Kate Middleton both recovering from surgery, the slimmed down monarchy will be tested.
King Charles has chosen to rule differently than his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. The queen died in September 2022, and Charles and his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, immediately became king and queen consort. They were officially crowned during their coronation ceremony in May 2023, and Charles has taken on a more slimmed down monarchy with fewer working royals.
While that might generally not be a bad idea, it likely doesn’t account for if two royals have to take a medical leave at the same time — which has just become the case with Charles and Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales.
King Charles’ monarchy plans have one major flaw
When Charles took the throne, he decided he wanted fewer royals involved with the monarchy’s duties. While the family is still extremely close, Charles only wants a handful of royals taking on engagements — his siblings and his children (and spouses, too). In this case, it doesn’t leave much room for any wrenches thrown, given that both Prince Andrew and Prince Harry no longer have official royal duties . As a result, the monarchy is already quite slim, but it’s about to get slimmer.
Charles is undergoing prostate surgery, while Kate recently had an abdominal surgery that will have her recovering for the next two months. This means that two more working royals will be out of commission, leaving even fewer royals available for royal duties. And it’s assumed that both Prince William and Camilla Parker Bowles will be taking some time off to care for their respective spouses.
Of course, Kate and Charles should absolutely put their health before anything else. But the situation does emphasize that Charles’ concept of a slimmed-down monarchy has a flaw in the case of multiple royals needing time off at once.
The royal family completed fewer engagements than usual in 2023
It seems that the royals are narrowing their scope a bit in other ways. Actually Charles completed more than 500 engagements in 2023, which was more than the previous year. But as a whole, royal engagement numbers weren’t all that high, with both William and Kate completing fewer than ever. It suggests that the Prince and Princess of Wales are narrowing their priorities when it comes to patronages, both emphasizing very niche areas to work on. William is working to end homelessness while Kate is focusing on early childhood development.
William and Kate both completed fewer than 200 engagements in 2023, which suggests their new norm could be to zero in on causes that truly matter. The two have also worked to find a balance between taking care of their royal duties and taking care of their children. It’s presumed that in the coming years, William will keep the idea of a slimmed-down monarchy, but he might want to have a backup plan in place in the event that several royals need time off at once.
