The complicated dynamic between the heir and the spare has been seen in royal families for centuries, and for Prince William, it’s a problem he’s especially keen to address with his own kids. At age 12, Prince George already has his future mapped out for him as the future King. But for Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, their lives are a bit more complicated.
In the latest installment of her “Fresh Hell” Substack, royal biographer Tina Brown wrote that breaking cycles with Charlotte and Louis is something William is “preoccupied with”—especially amid the issues that plagued his younger brother, Prince Harry.
“I am told that the heir to the throne, Prince William, is preoccupied with the built-in risk of primogeniture’s cruelty,” Brown wrote in the newsletter, which was focused on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
With fewer working royals to go around, it’s likely that Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will need to pitch in as full-time members of the Firm. However, with Prince William's plans to modernize the monarchy, that might mean his kids take on independent jobs instead.
Looking at Prince Harry, who William apparently thinks was treated unfairly growing up, it’s no wonder the Prince of Wales is concerned about his own “spares.”
“He is determined that his second- and third-born children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, are well-prepared and well-financed for independent lives and will not fall into the same cycle of thwarted freedom,” Brown wrote.
Writing in the iPaper last summer, longtime royal reporter Richard Palmer noted that “it is by no means clear what, if any, official role Charlotte or her younger brother Louis, seven, will have when they grow up in a world in which European monarchies are slimming down to only a handful of working royals.”
This means it's even more important for the Prince and Princess of Wales to prepare their two younger children for a life outside of palace responsibilities. What exactly that means remains to be seen, but as Queen Elizabeth's former press secretary, Ailsa Anderson, told the iPaper, the Prince and Princess of Wales will be careful to avoid the mistakes the Royal Family made with prior spares.
“William and Catherine, to a certain extent, are going to rip up the rule book and do it their way,” Anderson said.
