Princess Charlotte will be expected to get a job says Richard Eden

How can the Royal Family avoid history repeating itself when it comes to Prince George, the heir, and Princess Charlotte, the ‘spare’?

This is the question that Daily Mail, Diary Editor, Richard Eden is asking this week, as he analyses sibling relations within the royal family. 

Writing in his Palace Confidential newsletter, Richard explained: ‘From what I hear, the Prince and Princess of Wales want Charlotte, aged seven, to grow up with the expectation that she will get a job and not be a full-time royal.’

This path for the young Princess would be in keeping with her grandfather, King Charles III’s, vision for a slimmed-down monarchy. 

Her father Prince William, 40, who will one day be King himself, also shares this ideal for the future.

Richard described how he can understand these views, but said that he doesn’t necessarily agree with the idea of a slimmed-down monarchy. 

He explained: ‘Personally, I would prefer to see a larger Royal Family, carrying out more official engagements and meeting more members of the public.

‘If Charlotte is to get a job and not be an active member of “The Firm”, she needs to be ready to step into the breach, if needed.’ 

King Charles III and Prince William both share a vision of a slimmed-down monarchy with less working royals 

Richard asks if this future plan for the royals is avoid history repeating itself when it comes to Prince George (far left), the heir, and Princess Charlotte, (for right) the ‘spare’?

In his memoir Spare Harry, who is two years younger than Prince William, explained how this idea of ‘heir’ and ‘spare’ had been reinforced throughout his entire life

Richard’s comments come after the Duke of Sussex’s ‘spite, shameful memoirs, Spare,’ in which he revealed years of tension between himself and his brother, the heir. 

Writing in Spare, the Duke of Sussex, 38, said he grew up knowing that he was there to give his older brother, Prince William, 40, an organ donation if he needed it. 

‘I was brought into the world in case something happened to Willy,’ he said, claiming that his parents and grandparents even referred to him and his brother as the heir and the spare as a form of ‘shorthand’.  

He described his life as a ‘mission to offer a source of distraction, entertainment and, in case of need, a spare part’, such as a kidney, blood transfusion or bone marrow.

Harry, who is two years younger than Prince William, explained how this idea of ‘heir’ and ‘spare’ had been reinforced throughout his entire life. 

He said that this idea of only being in the world in case something happened to William was made ‘abundantly clear’ to him from an early age and was ‘regularly reinforced’ throughout his life. 

Although, Prince Harry deeply criticised the Royal Family, ‘The Firm’, and his upbringing, always seeing himself in his brother’s shadow as a spare part for him, Richard argues that there are lessons to be learnt from the book. 

He said: ‘The book inspires some deep thought about how to avoid any repeat of the breakdown in relations between the royal heir and “spare”.’

Before Prince Harry, Princess Margaret and Prince Andrew also struggled, in different ways, with the role of ‘spare’, or sibling of the heir to the throne.