2024 has been a difficult year for the royal family, with both King Charles and the Princess of Wales diagnosed with cancer. And in order to focus on their respective recoveries, both senior royal family members have been forced to take a temporary step back from public duties, with heir to the throne Prince William having to step up.
“William and Kate had hoped to have several decades as Prince and Princess of Wales, and god willing they will still get them," a former royal courtier has reportedly noted via Cosmopolitan. "But what is interesting about the next few months is that William is being forced into a dry run at being king much sooner than he might have imagined such a thing would come to pass."
Amid Prince William's "dry run" as King, royal experts are looking at what the Mountbatten-Windsors would look like under the Prince and Princess of Wales, and whose roles would be promoted.
One family member who experts are predicting could receive a major title when William and Kate become King and Queen is Pippa Middleton.
The 40-year-old is expected to be elected as one of her sister's six "companions" - an age-old tradition in The Firm, with Queen Camilla recently choosing her sister Annabell Elliott as one of her own.
"I certainly think there could be a role for Pippa as a lady-in-waiting or companion type role," Royal expert Phil Dampier told Fabulous. "This needs to be someone the then Queen can trust and rely on, and who better than her sister?"
He continued: "Pippa has some commercial interests but I'm sure by the time Kate becomes Queen she would be happy to fulfil that role if required. It's not necessarily a full time job so she would be available."
Stressing the length of time it would be for title changes to happen, Dampier continued: "I can't see the Middletons getting any titles while Charles is King and I don't think they would want any. But when William becomes King and Kate becomes Queen things could change."
We will continue to update this story.
