“Running out of royals” Prince William faces mounting pressure to do it all

Prince William is reportedly feeling the strain as his royal duties continue to pile up, with fewer working royals around to share the weight. According to a new report, the Prince of Wales may soon have to turn to younger family members like Lady Louise Windsor to help keep up with the growing demand for royal appearances across the country.

Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped away from royal life back in 2020, the number of active royals has dropped noticeably. With the older generation taking on fewer engagements, William is said to be juggling an increasingly heavy workload as he prepares for his future role as King.

Royal commentator Christopher Wilson, writing for the Daily Mail, suggested that Lady Louise could become an unexpected but valuable member of “The Firm” in the years ahead.

“That leaves dark-horse contender Lady Louise Windsor, 21, who charms all who meet her and could be a decorative and useful asset to the royal team,” he wrote.

However, Wilson pointed out that the Duchess of Edinburgh, Sophie, is known to be fiercely protective of her daughter and may prefer to keep her out of the limelight for as long as possible. “But her mother Sophie, vastly protective of her daughter, is just as likely to want her to stay out of the spotlight,” he added.

Lady Louise, the daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, has earned praise in recent years for her poise and down-to-earth nature. Despite growing public interest in her, she has largely stayed out of the public eye, focusing on her studies at St Andrews University.

Wilson also mentioned Louise’s younger brother, James, Earl of Wessex, who is still only 17 and attending Radley College, a private school in Berkshire. “Of Louise’s brother James, 17, little is known of his character and personality or whether he’d wish to serve as a front rank royal – even if William wished it,” he wrote.

With a smaller royal team to cover hundreds of annual engagements, William’s position is said to be becoming increasingly difficult. Many royal watchers have noticed that he and Princess Kate are taking on more prominent roles, especially since King Charles’s cancer diagnosis and the Princess of Wales’s own health challenges earlier this year.

Wilson warned that the current setup could lead to a crisis if no new royals step forward to share the workload. “Public demand for the attendance of a royal to mark major and minor events up and down the country remains as high as ever,” he said.

While King Charles has long supported a “slimmed-down” monarchy, the practical effects are now beginning to show. With Harry and Meghan out of the picture, Prince Andrew sidelined, and the Queen’s cousins in their eighties, the circle of active royals has never been smaller.

As it stands, William and Kate are effectively holding the fort for the next generation. But as royal experts suggest, even the most dutiful Prince can’t be everywhere at once — and the future of the monarchy might just depend on a few younger faces stepping up sooner rather than later.