Prince William, the second in line to the throne, wants his uncle Prince Andrew to ‘vanish from public view’, an expert has claimed.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, stepped away from his royal duties due to his Virginia Giuffre scandal but now it seems for nephew William this isn’t enough.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, an insider said that Andrew’s “insistence in trying to cling on to a public role is highly dangerous for the institution" and that William has “strong views” on the matter.
A friend said William "would have cut [Andrew] loose a long time ago if it had been up to him".
"He understands that when it comes to mother and son the situation is complicated, but honestly I think he just wishes he would vanish from public view."
But in the central spine of the family, William isn’t the only one looking to change the shape and size of the monarchy.
His father, Charles, has been talking about a stripped-back version of the family for years, but what would that look like?
What would a stripped-back Royal Family look like?
Charles, Prince of Wales is believed to have been interested in a slimmed-down monarchy for a while now.
The 73-year-old heir to the throne has taken more responsibility on his shoulders as his mother the Queen, 96, “begins to slow down” and now attention is turning to what the famous family could look like with him at its head.
At the time of writing, the Royal Family website displayed the 16 most senior royals in the family.
However, Insider reports that Charles plans to get that number down to more like eight.
All of these eight members would be senior working royals.
According to The Times, one of the key reasons for this would be to protect the family’s reputation. Multiple press offices of various parts of the family are left free to operate as they please, making dealing with challenges like a scandal far more difficult.
Running a royal family is also expensive. By reducing the number of people working, the monarchy would also be cutting down on the number of people it would need to keep afloat through the Sovereign Grant, the public fund that supports the royals.
In September 2020, Forbes and BBC reported that the family could have ended up around £35million down due to the pandemic.
Insider reports that, originally, Charles’ lineup included Princes Philip and Harry. Philip retired in 2017 before sadly dying four years later in 2021.
Harry meanwhile, stepped back from public life in 2020, moving to California with his wife Meghan Markle.
Speaking to the publication, royal commentator Kinsey Schofield said that the new model of the family would likely to be centered around the Queen, Prince Charles, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and the Duchess of Cornwall, and Anne, Princess Royal.
"While these are all individuals that will be out in the future representing the crown, I think Charles will try to draw attention to himself, Camilla, and the Cambridge family as the future of the monarchy," she added.
