Queen consort for Prince William.
Could the Prince and Princess of Wales be key to saving a monarchy plagued by a health crisis? Some royal experts seem to think so.
King Charles III, who once expressed his desire for a slimmed-down monarchy, has witnessed several key members of the royal family become sidelined.
Both he and Kate Middleton are battling cancer, and his sister, Princess Anne, recognized as his right-hand woman, has been hospitalized for a concussion.
Prince Andrew has been keeping a low profile since his scandal involving Jeffrey Epstein resulted in a nuclear interview in 2019, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex continue to live in California after making their exit in 2020.
“William and Kate, far and away the most beloved members of the royal family, really are the pillars on which the future of the monarchy rests,” Christopher Andersen, author of “The King,” told Fox News Digital.
“If either one of them starts to wobble, the whole thing can come crashing down. At the moment, Kate is at her most vulnerable. The ground beneath Kate is shifting in major ways. Only time can tell if she can stand strong.”
Royal author Katie Nicholl recently wrote in Vanity Fair that the palace “did not have a game plan,” following the devastating dual cancer diagnosis for the king, 75, and his daughter-in-law, 42.
“This was not a public scandal or a crisis like an abdication,” Nicholl wrote. “Nevertheless, it forced a rethink for Charles in terms of his slimmed-down monarchy and how best to serve the people. The mighty House of Windsor, which not long ago had the world’s longest-reigning monarch at its helm, suddenly seemed very vulnerable.”
Andersen pointed out that both the king and his elder son William were in full support of a slimmed-down monarchy, one in which only a select group of senior royals would be fulfilling duties for the crown. But after Anne “joined the ranks of stricken senior royals,” it made the palace rethink the strategy
Andersen believes all eyes are on William even more now as heir to the throne. As for Kate, everyone seems to be waiting with bated breath for her official return to public life.
The simple truth is that the royal family cannot be whittled down to a precious few without the risk of having it grind to a halt altogether,” Andersen explained. “For over 70 years, the Windsors had longevity on their side – almost to a ridiculous extent. Queen Elizabeth II lived to be 96, and her husband Prince Philip was 99, the longest-living royal male in history.
The Queen Mother was downing her favorite gin and Dubonnets right up until the end at the astounding age of 101. There seemed to be no need for redundancy, with senior royals seeming practically immortal and three generations of future monarchs … waiting in the wings.”
It’s hard to blame palace officials for not having a plan in place to cope with the simultaneous cancer diagnoses of King Charles and Princess Kate, much less the sidelining of such a valuable supporting player as the Princess Royal,” Andersen continued. “The home team is running out of options.”
British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital that once Kate is fully recovered and ready to go back to work, the public will feel more at ease about the monarchy’s future again.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have been the future of the monarchy since their marriage,” he explained. “After them, their children … Kate has star power, beauty, poise and dedication. She and William have a very special cachet as a couple. She is championing studies in early childhood, and this is an important cause.
“Princess Anne’s accident this week shows what can happen, quite unexpectedly,” Fitzwilliams shared. “It was she who quite recently said a slimmed-down monarchy was impractical. It depends on what is wanted of the royal family.”
“Prince Edward and his wife Sophie are doing what they can to take up the slack,” said Andersen. “Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie could be asked to pitch in, which would be ironic given that Charles once contemplated stripping Andrew’s daughters of their titles as part of his plan to slim down the monarchy. Not surprisingly, Andrew angrily objected at the time.
Is the monarchy more fragile than it’s ever been? People seem to have forgotten the days following Princess Diana’s death, when the British people were so angry over Queen Elizabeth’s seemingly callous indifference that the monarch had to apologize to her subjects and bow to Diana’s passing coffin. That said, this is certainly a trying time for the monarchy, and there are undoubtedly challenging days ahead.
