They Will Never Be Working Royals. Here's Why
From alleged sex scandals to an all-out PR war with the monarchy, you won't believe some of the reasons why these royal family members won't ever be working royals.
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00:00From alleged sex scandals to an all-out PR war with the monarchy,
00:04you won't believe some of the reasons why these royal family members won't ever be working royals.
00:10Don't feel too out of the loop if you're not aware of Sarah Chateau. The daughter of Princess
00:13Margaret and the niece of the late Queen Elizabeth II certainly doesn't end up in
00:17the headlines too often. Although she's not a working royal, she's very close to her family.
00:22Sarah was Queen Elizabeth's only niece, giving the two a special bond. After the queen's passing,
00:26royal editor Emily Nash told Hello! magazine,
00:29"[Sarah and Her Majesty the Queen had a very close and unique relationship.
00:32She will no doubt be grieving and processing this in private and we can expect to see her
00:36with the rest of the royal family in the coming days." Despite living a quieter life,
00:40Sarah gained attention after being featured in the BBC documentary Elizabeth at 90, a family tribute.
00:46"'That's the sweetest thing, isn't it? But singing must have been a huge part of their lives,
00:51I think. It's something that they both shared."
00:53Many viewers were touched by Sarah's down-to-earth nature and her love for the
00:57queen. Despite how she charmed the public, though, it's unlikely we'll see Sarah taking
01:01on a more official role as a working royal. An acquaintance of the family described her
01:05to the Daily Mail, saying,
01:06"[Sarah is very unassuming, shy and almost embarrassed with no grandeur at all.
01:10With her quiet personality, she's shown little interest in a public-facing position with the
01:15royals."
01:16Another lesser-known royal family member is Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick. Edward is
01:21the late Queen Elizabeth's first cousin twice removed. He has attended many royal events,
01:25but he doesn't have the pressure or expectations that come with being a working royal. Despite
01:30his family ties, Edward told Tatler that he had a very normal childhood, and the significance of
01:34his royal connections took him time to come to terms with. He explained,
01:38"...only with age and with a degree of cynicism can you possibly tell that
01:41some people treat you differently because you haven't got a mister in front of your name."
01:44Because he's not a working royal, Edward has struck out on his own, creating a career in
01:49fashion. He launched his own menswear line, Fedea, in 2017. Edward is very unlikely to ever
01:54become a working royal. His relation to the crown is more distant than others, and his current title,
01:59Lord of Downpatrick, is a courtesy title rather than anything official. Beyond that,
02:04he's also been removed from the line of succession because he's Catholic. This is due
02:07to the Act of Settlement of 1701, which guarantees that whoever assumes the crown is Protestant.
02:12While this may sound like an archaic rule, it still stands.
02:16"...whatever you say."
02:18Lord Downpatrick's younger sister, Lady Marina Windsor, is another royal who we're not expecting
02:22to see as a working royal. Her royal family connections have given her a privileged life
02:27with many exciting and interesting opportunities. While attending the University of Edinburgh,
02:31she acted in several plays and studied French and Portuguese. Since graduating,
02:35she has worked with charitable organizations and done some modeling.
02:38Her experience in philanthropy may make her seem like the perfect candidate to step up
02:42as a working royal. After all, she could continue charitable work in that role and
02:46do a lot of good from that position. However, like her brother, Lady Marina is not in the
02:50line of succession. She was a part of the royal line when she was born. However,
02:54in 2008, she was removed when she was confirmed into the Catholic Church.
03:00Lady Amelia Windsor is the youngest sibling of Edward Windsor and Lady Marina Windsor.
03:04Because her ties to the throne are more distant, she had a fairly normal upbringing. However,
03:08she has gained some public attention over the years due to her stunning features.
03:12Her looks even inspired the media to dub her the most beautiful member of the royal family.
03:17She's a successful fashion model who has worked with top designer brands like Chanel,
03:21Dolce & Gabbana, and Bvlgari. She also has over 100,000 Instagram followers and uses the platform
03:27to keep people updated on her fashion, travels, and day-to-day life. Her social media feed is
03:32quite refreshing, as it's definitely rare for royals to have a personal social media presence.
03:36This difference is exactly why you will likely never see her as a working royal.
03:40Although she may be popular, her fashion and lifestyle don't match the more buttoned-up
03:44image the royal family likes to portray. The young royal enjoys sharing her perspective
03:49through fashion and photography and shows no sign of changing her public persona to
03:52meet the demands of a working royal. In years past, Prince Andrew, Duke of York,
03:58would have been a royal the monarchy could lean on to do extra work during a trying time. However,
04:03Queen Elizabeth's third child has since fallen from grace. When his friendship with convicted
04:07sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became publicized, public opinion turned on Andrew. Of course,
04:12he denied all allegations made against him.
04:14"...absolutely no to all of it."
04:17Regardless, he stepped back from his royal duties. In 2022, following the public scandal,
04:22Queen Elizabeth stripped her son of his military titles and patronages. Although he retained his
04:27royal title, Andrew was ousted from his previously celebrated status. More recently, Prince Andrew
04:32has benefited from the royal's health crisis and made public appearances that he may not have if
04:37others were available. Still, it's highly unlikely for his duties to return to what they once were.
04:41His reputation has been tarnished, and it would be a bad look for the monarchy to have him as
04:45their representative. As a PR expert, Evan Nierman told Business Insider,
04:49"...the family has much more to lose than gain by continuing to appear with Andrew,
04:53so there is certainly a case to be made for keeping their distance."
04:57With the shortage of working royals, many have thought of Zara Tindall as an excellent option
05:02to help fill in where needed. As Zara is the daughter of Princess Anne and the granddaughter
05:06of Queen Elizabeth, she is fairly close to the crown. Although she's not an official working
05:10royal, Zara does attend many royal events and is also quite close to high-ranking family members.
05:15Even so, some say stepping into a more official role is unlikely for Zara.
05:19Although Zara happily attends weddings, celebrations, and other royal events,
05:23public engagements are not her thing, according to Grant Harold, the king's former butler.
05:28Furthermore, Zara and her husband, Mike Tindall, play an essential role as non-working royals.
05:33PR expert Andy Barr told GB News,
05:36"...the Tindall family are close enough to the royal family to know what goes on behind the
05:39scenes, but distant enough to be able to speak more freely. Every public interaction that the
05:43royal family have with the Tindalls results in positive headlines. This is because of the fun
05:48family vibe that Zara, Mike, and their children give off."
05:51Having more relatable public figures like Zara and her family is great for the House
05:54of Windsor's public image, even without her becoming a working royal.
05:58"...exactly, thank you."
06:00Like his sister, Zara, Peter Phillips does not have an official title and is not a working royal.
06:05Despite being the children of Princess Anne and grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth,
06:09Peter and Zara did not inherit a title, since their father, Captain Mark Phillips, was not a prince.
06:14While the monarchy often offers titles to such close relatives, Princess Anne still
06:18chose not to have her children go by prince and princess. At the time of Peter's birth,
06:22many were surprised by his lack of title. Patrick Montague Smith, editor of DeBrett's
06:26Peerage, told The New York Times that this made it unlikely Peter would take on any official duties.
06:31He said,
06:32"...he will probably just live quietly in the country and I don't suppose a title matters
06:35much for the life he will lead. Not having a title has offered him a level of anonymity
06:40and freedom throughout his life and it would be unlikely for this to change."
06:44With a sparse lineup of working royals, many people have suggested Princess Beatrice as a
06:49possible royal to fill out the ranks. Beatrice is the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew, putting
06:53her ninth in the line of succession. Although she's not as well-known as some of the working
06:57royals, she's frequently in attendance at weddings, coronations, and other big events,
07:01making her an already recognizable figure for the British people. She seems the perfect option
07:06for a working royal, but her father's reputation may make that impossible. While Beatrice is not
07:11associated with any of her father's scandals, the close relation may hurt her public image.
07:16Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams pointed out this problem to GB News.
07:20In his opinion, promoting Princess Beatrice as a working royal would prove problematic for the
07:24crown due to her, "...link with Prince Andrew." He added,
07:27"...it just seems unlikely there's going to be a change for the time being."
07:30Regardless of that sentiment, it goes without saying that Beatrice will likely continue to
07:35show up at events and in the news every so often like she always has.
07:39"...I'm still here!"
07:41As the younger sister of Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie faces the same obstacles
07:45to becoming a working royal. At this point, the negative public view of their father makes it
07:50unlikely for either princess to take on a more significant role in the royal family.
07:54On top of that, as the younger sister, Eugenie yields seniority to Beatrice.
07:58It would be unusual for her to become a full-time royal unless Beatrice also did.
08:02Beyond any obstacles presented by their father,
08:04neither princess has shown a significant amount of interest in serving the crown.
08:08Because they aren't working royals, Eugenie and Beatrice have been free to live more normal lives.
08:13They've also built their own careers and followed passions outside the royal sphere.
08:17Plus, after the birth of Eugenie's second child in 2023,
08:21she has plenty to focus on at home without balancing additional engagements for the firm.
08:26As the younger son of King Charles, Prince Harry is one of the most well-known members
08:30of the royal family. For much of his life, he was a key and working member of the monarchy.
08:36However, since stepping down from his royal duties, it is highly unlikely that Harry will
08:40return to them in any official capacity. In January 2020, he and his wife Meghan, Duchess
08:46of Sussex, gave up their positions as senior royals. The couple made the decision after
08:50struggling with media intrusion and growing tensions between themselves and other family
08:54members. Current hardships for senior royals may make some wonder if Harry will once again
08:59take a more pivotal role. But that would be quite a difficult transition, especially considering his
09:03relationship with his brother, Prince William, has become even more distant after the release
09:07of his memoir, Spare. In his book, Harry details many disagreements with him and his family,
09:12even describing a physical altercation he claims to have had with William.
09:16Following the book's release, a source told Us Weekly,
09:19"...at this point he's got no plans to speak to Harry. He's come to terms with
09:22the fact that he's lost his little brother and, quite possibly, for life."
09:26Indeed, it would be quite strange for Harry to rejoin the ranks and continue
09:29with business as usual after creating such a divide between himself and the rest of the royals.
09:35Considering how complicated it would be for Prince Harry to return to the fold,
09:39it should be no surprise that Meghan Markle will most likely never be a full-time working
09:43royal again. It's no secret that Meghan struggled to adjust to life as a duchess.
09:47A little over a year after stepping back from royal duties, Meghan and Harry took part in a
09:51bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey where many unpleasant moments from Meghan's time as a royal
09:56were revealed. Among other things, she discussed racist remarks made by family members about her
10:00son's skin color, claimed Princess Catherine made her cry on her wedding day, and discussed
10:05having suicidal thoughts.
10:06It's a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes."
10:10With all that in mind, it is doubtful that Meghan would, or could, return to a position
10:14that made her so miserable. On top of that, public opinion is very split on Meghan. While
10:19some commend her and Harry's honesty, others criticize it. X was divided when Oprah's
10:24interview with the couple was nominated for an Emmy. Many made it clear they didn't believe
10:28anything in the interview, with one stating,
10:30"...surely this program should have been in the category fiction."
10:33Another said,
10:34"...yes, this interview with the Toxic Two should win Emmy for best drama, fiction, and fantasy."
10:38While Meghan has plenty of supporters, the royals likely wouldn't call on such a polarizing figure
10:43at this time.