RICHARD EDEN: What a friend of Prince William has told me about his plans and why it’s left me worried about the future of the Royal Family

The Princess of Wales on the balcony of Buckingham Palace was a sight that would cheer any Royalist. However, there was something about that balcony scene after Trooping the Color last Saturday that made me uncomfortable.

And my sense of anxiety was deepened by a conversation I later had with a friend of Catherine’s husband, Prince William.

The sovereign’s birthday parade was always an opportunity to celebrate the extended royal family. There was no greater symbol of this than a packed palace balcony for the fly-past, with older royals, such as the Duke of Kent, squeezing in alongside minor members of the family, including his glamorous granddaughters Lady Amelia and Lady Marina Windsor.

However, over the weekend the junior royals were asked not to join the older members of ‘The Firm’ on the balcony.

Instead, there was the sad sight of Lord Frederick Windsor, son of Queen Elizabeth’s beloved cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, glimpsed from behind the curtain in the palace’s middle room. Like his recently grieving sister, Lady Gabriella Windsor, Lord Freddie was asked to stay out of sight, like an embarrassed relative.

…and the much larger lineup from just five years ago in 2019

This is because King Charles chose to stick with his late mother’s post-pandemic policy and only allow ‘working royals’ onto the balcony.

The Duke of Kent therefore looked lonely without his wife or children. His sister, Princess Alexandra, was too weak to join him, even though she is still considered a ‘working royal’.

Besides the King, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children, the only others on the balcony last Saturday were Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

Queen Elizabeth abandoned her decades-long tradition because of the ‘Harry and Meghan problem’ and the ‘Duke of York dilemma’. She felt that if she allowed other “non-working royals” to join her on the balcony, she could not exclude those who had resigned from their royal duties.

So we were left there last weekend with the large empty spaces that would previously have been filled with the smiling faces of younger royals.

When I spoke to Prince William’s friend later, I had hoped he would bring news of a change in this uninspiring policy.

But what he told me made me worry about the future of the monarchy.

The friend said William was in ‘complete agreement’ with his father on the need for a ‘downsized monarchy’.

He told me: ‘When the older members of the family retire, His Royal Highness will not invite anyone else to become working royals. It remains to be seen whether he even wants his two younger children to work for the royal family.’

At 59, the Duchess of Edinburgh is the only other member of ‘The Firm’ under the age of 60. This means that by the time William takes the throne, he and Catherine may be the only full-time royals.

“That’s what William wants,” the source claims. ‘He sees the small European monarchies as models for the future.’

William and Kate will watch the flypast from the palace balcony with Charles and their three children on Saturday… William would like a European-style ‘downsized monarchy’

However, when King Charles made his plans for a ‘downsized monarchy’, Prince Harry played a key role.

That was made clear during Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012, when the monarch, after encouragement from then-Prince Charles, allowed only him, Camilla, William, Catherine and Harry to watch the flight from the balcony. It was intended as a symbolic representation of the future of the monarchy.

However, Harry and Meghan’s decision to step down from their royal duties has thrown the king’s plans into disarray. It was intended that they would play an important role and share duties and patronages with William and Catherine.

In my opinion, it would be a mistake for William to go ahead with his plans for a radically downsized monarchy if Harry and Meghan are no longer there to support him.

Instead, he should ask his cousins, such as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Lady Louise Windsor and the Earl of Wessex, to share the burden with him when the time comes.

Queen Elizabeth, who asked her own cousins ​​to help her carry out orders, showed that the monarchy is stronger when it is a team effort.

I submitted what I was told to Kensington Palace and it was a ‘no comment’

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