Columnist Daniela Elser believes the Princess of Wales will be among the royals to “pay the price” for much of the turmoil and changes that happened in the Firm in the past few years and will need to shoulder up much of the work of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
In an op-ed penned for the New Zealand Herald, the commentator said: “The loss of the Sussexes from the royal fold dealt the Royal Family not only a serious reputational blow but a hands-on one too.
“The Duke and Duchesses’ patronages and his military roles can be added to those that Prince Andrew was forced to officially relinquish earlier this year, including such prestigious posts as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. Factor in too here the more than 50 organisations, including Royal Ballet and the London Symphony Orchestra, who boasted the late Queen as their patron.
“The question isn’t who will take these over but who can feasibly find time to take them on?
“Today, of the remaining working members of the royal family, nearly two-thirds are over the age of 70, with the remaining “staffers” being Edward and Sophie, Earl and Countess of Wessex (58 and 57 respectively), and William and Kate, who are both 40.
“This ageing, reduced working royal family will be expected to shoulder the same sort of workload – all the shaking of hands and planting commemorative trees – as they always have.
“Bottom line, the remaining HRHs are going to be stretched ever thinner.”