Prince William's Future Royal Plans Aren't Getting the Warm Response He Expected

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Prince William is setting the stage for his future reign as King of England, but not everyone is exactly thrilled with his plan to put “a smaller r in the royal.” His interview with The Times on Nov. 9 irritated many of his U.K. critics because they want to know where their tax dollars are going if he’s planning on making fewer appearances.

“His ‘r’ couldn’t get any smaller, to be honest,” said Graham Smith, CEO of the anti-monarchy group Republic, and William’s loudest detractor told NBC News. “He barely does anything at all. He’s an incredibly lazy man who manages to get a pretty small splashing of engagements to look like he is busy.” While Smith is a constant thorn in the Prince of Wales and King Charles III’s side, there is another dissenting voice that is rather surprising.

Tina Brown, author of The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor – the Truth and the Turmoil, shared her critical thoughts on her Substack essay titled “Military Matters and Royal Feuds.” She described him as a “performative pinhead” for wanting to “throw some empathy” into the work that he and Kate Middleton do — which seems odd since that emotion should always be in play when he’s doing engagements. Brown feels that he has too many people puffing him up and not sharing the public perception of the monarchy in 2024.

The Prince of Wales gave hints about his royal blueprint in November 2023 during his Singapore tour when he dropped the bomb about lessening his patronage workload. “You have to remain focused, if you spread yourself too thin you just can’t manage it and you won’t deliver the impact or the change that you really want to happen,” he told the print media, via Roya Nikkhah, Royal Editor of The Sunday Times on X. That’s when many U.K. charities began sweating — it’s bad news for them.

“These comments will be very concerning to a lot of charities that have relied on their royal patrons for generations. It is almost impossible to raise any serious amount of money in Britain without a royal patron,” a philanthropist told The Daily Beast. Queen Elizabeth II supported over 500 patronages during her reign, Prince Philip took on 800 charities, and Princess Anne currently has over 300 patronages.

Prince William and Kate have prioritized raising their young family over tackling royal engagements, and understandably, this year was focused on the Princess of Wales’ health. As she recovers though, the royal critics want to see more, not less, of them out in the trenches. So, Prince William might have to retool his future plans if he wants a smooth reign on the throne.

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