The Royal Family

Buckingham Palace — one of the most popular tourist attractions in the United Kingdom, and home to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, as well as other members of Britain’s royal family. Two of the most prominent members of that family, the “young Royals,” have been living in Canada since late 2019. In January 2020, they announced that they would be stepping back from their roles as senior members of the royal family. This news caused an outburst that many referred to as “Megxit.” Harry and Meghan relocated to sunny California where they have been living for the last year. On March 7th the couple sat down with Oprah for an exclusive tell all interview, which created a stir amongst the 17.1 million people who tuned in that night. Harry and Meghan opened up about racism within the institution, their mental health struggles, a fight for security and how the royals cut them off financially. These revelations have many people wondering about the future of the royal family. Will there be more royals who leave?

The queen holds no real power over the British government. The UK citizens pay certain taxes to provide for a portion of her family’s income. Next time you’re admiring Kate Middleton’s outfit, know that it likely came out of English taxpayer’s pockets. Markle mentioned that the royal institution runs on the support of the people. If the people turn on them, there will be no funding for the family. According to a recent poll in the UK, 69%  of Britain’s citizens are in favor of the Queen. However, the next monarch, Prince Charles, has never been particularly popular. In July 2020, 4,000 UK citizens participated in a survey to determine who the most popular royals are and Charles and Camilla came in low on the list. Harry and Meghan’s interview didn’t help Charles’s reputation after Harry mentioned that his father had stopped taking his calls. It’s up to The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Kate and William, to uphold the people’s support. It was actually Kate who was listed as the most popular royal in that survey.  If the young royals can’t manage to keep the people in favor of the family, the British monarchy will fade into a tourist attraction. 

Now that Harry and Meghan have left the institution, people can’t help but be curious about whether more royals will leave in the future. Like his grandfather and father, Prince Geogre is trapped in the monarchy as the future king. However, the Cambridge’s younger children, Charlotte and Louis, could follow in their uncle’s footsteps. Harry always knew he would never be King and Charlotte and Louis are placed in a similar position. In fact, the littles go by George, Charlotte and Louis Cambrdige at school. Prince Edward is Queen Elizabeth’s youngest son and he doesn’t go by his formal titles. That applies to his children as well. They are able to live a more normal life by not carrying the weight of a royal title. The disregard of titles is something that’s expected to become more common as time goes on. 

Despite popular belief, it’s not unheard of for members of royal families to hold normal jobs. Princess Beatrice, the Queen’s granddaughter, does consulting at a software company. The Queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, is a trained olympian. Prince Constantijgn of the Netherlands is a lawyer and the young Prince Nikolai of Denmark models. Meghan wasn’t even the first American actress to marry a royal. Grace Kelly married into the Monaco monarchy and Rita Hayworth married into a royal Islamic family. 

Magazines have columns titled “Stars Are Just Like Us” and the reality is that, it’s true. We are all human beings who crave stability, love, and happiness. The royals are no different. It’s likely that there will be more British royals who choose to leave the monarchy.