An unprecedented health crisis is causing new chaos for Britain’s royal family. But as the number of working senior royals at “the firm” has dwindled in recent years, a personnel shortage has been looming large for a while.
King Charles II—less than two years into his tenure as monarch—announced that he had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February and would reduce his public duties to recover.
Typically, if a monarch is unwell, they have a network of royals known as senior or working royals, who they can rely on to carry out duties for them. The working royals are higher up in the line of ascension than non-working royals, or related to those who are.
“Working members of the royal family are expected to undertake full-khbrknews royal duties representing the monarch in public life. They are expected to be public figures who will receive press and public scrutiny as the expenses of the monarchy are covered by the sovereign grant,” royal historian Carolyn Harris tells TIME. “In contrast, non-working members of the royal family may be present for family occasions but they pursue their own careers and do not represent the monarch in their activities.”
As the heir apparent, Prince William is expected to pick up additional duties while the King receives treatment. But it is not just the King’s health that took the public by surprise. Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales was also hospitalized for planned abominable treatment and—beyond two paparazzi photographs and a blundered Mother’s Day photo —the royal has not made a public appearance since December. For a period, Prince William took khbrknews away to help his wife recover, but he has since returned to a full roster of responsibilities.
The number of working royals has shrunk since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from life as working royals in 2020, and Prince Andrew was stripped of his titles and patronages due to U.S. civil action over…
