DIFFERENT DIRECTION
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THE Prince and Princess of Wales "tend to be going in a different direction" to elder members of the Royal Family, instead appearing in "less public engagements" and doing more impactful work behind-the-scenes, claims a royal reporter.
News.com.au correspondent Bronte Coy says this could be thanks, not only to a generational shift in attitude, but also to the recent health scares the younger Royals have battled.
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It's been a tough twelve months of health concerns for the Royal family, during which Kate, 43, faced the "huge shock" of her cancer diagnosis in March and Princess Anne, 74, was rushed to hospital after a head injury involving a horse in June.
On this week’s episode of The Sun’s Royal Exclusive, Royal reporters Cameron Walker and Bronte Coy spoke to Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson about the shift in mentality between the older and younger generations of the family - and how Catherine and William might be set to do things 'their way' when they ascend the throne.
Discussing a recent interview given by Princess Anne at the end of her two-day royal tour of South Africa this week, Matt recalled that the Princess Royal had said she was "very close to not being" after her head injury last year.
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Despite this traumatic event, Anne insisted that plans to retire were "not an option", prompting Matt to ask: "Should members of the Royal Family have a retirement age like the rest of us?"
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"Traditionally, they haven't," said Cameron.
He added: "Obviously, the late Queen went on till her last moments, Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh - I think he was 96 when he retired in 2017, so he was incredibly old.
"Princess Anne really takes after her father and is, as we know, a very hard working member of the Royal Family.
"She's consistently at the top of the number of royal engagements each year."
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The royal experts discussed how this is a common theme among the elder generations of the royals, who have all been well-known for their frequent public engagements, despite their older ages and battles with ill health.
Bronte recalled how the late Queen, who was very well-known for her strong work ethic, managed to "maintain light duties" while suffering from Covid symptoms in 2021.
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"I thought, my goodness, can she have a break? She's in her nineties, please, she's got Covid," Bronte said in disbelief.
Putting this hard-working mentality down to the way the elder royals were all "taught about the role from a very young age", Bronte says the concept of appearing in public to fulfil Royal duties had been "instilled in them" from their early years.
She speculates whether this mentality might change among the younger generations of the family, William and Catherine, when they take the throne.
Saying their recent health scare might make them realise there "is a point where you can step back", Bronte admits a crucial contributing detail to this is it "probably depends on how many other royals there are" to "pick up the slack".
Matt queried whether we might demand too much of the Royal Family, recalling that King Charles continued to work throughout recent illness.
However Cameron says this was likely a "generational thing" and that Queen Camilla says she struggles to get the King to "slow down".
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In comparison, he believes William and Catherine will approach their royal duties "their way", and says it's still early days, so we will need to wait to see how this impacts their work.
The royal experts seemed to agree that the late Queen's opinion that "the Royal Family need to be seen to be believed" is less agreed upon by younger members of the family.
Cameron says he thinks there is a balance that "needs to be struck" as we move into the rule of the newer generation and adapt to their approach to public appearances.
One sentiment that seems to apply to many members of the family was revealed by Princess Anne during her South African interview, where she said: "You are sharply reminded that every day is a bonus."
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Bronte said: "There's been a lot of that from the Royals after the past year - they've all sort of reached that point, and yeah, it's a good mentality to have at the end of it."
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