William and Kate’s ‘spare’ strategy to help Charlotte avoid Harry’s pitfalls

In the warm afterglow of football glory in Basel, Prince William hugged his daughter Princess Charlotte on a trip that signalled a fresh approach to an old royal problem.

Charlotte, the third in line to the throne, looked assured beyond her years, more outgoing than her 12-year-old brother Prince George, in the presence of the victorious Lionesses.

On more than just a father and daughter outing, the ten-year-old princess was getting a glimpse of her father’s work as patron of the Football Association, as well as a preview of a possible future role for her as a figurehead encouraging girls and women to get involved in sport.

In a Royal Family traditionally focused on the need to create an heir to the throne, and then a spare just in case something goes wrong, the Waleses want their children to have emotional security instead of giving special treatment to the chosen one.

How to solve the problem of the spare is something the Royal Family has wrestled with for decades.

The troubled lives of Prince Harry, Prince Andrew and the late Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret are testimony to the problems this unequal approach can spark, with the younger siblings typically left feeling overlooked and purposeless, dealing with the baggage of constantly having to play second fiddle to their older sibling. Their lack of a defined role has led to reckless behaviour and scandal.

In an effort to avoid the emotionally stunted pitfalls of the past, William and Kate are trying to bring up their children differently, often prioritising them over work. It’s a sharp contrast with King Charles, whose sons complained he was always at his desk or on engagements.

Charlotte joined her father William for the Euro 2025 final in Switzerland (Photo: Getty Images Europe)

But, although it has led critics to call them workshy, William and Kate know they have years of official duties ahead of them and, royal sources insist, the monarchy and country will benefit in the longer term if they bring up well-adjusted, resilient children.

“One of the biggest differences is that William and Catherine put their children first,” said Marlene Koenig, a royal historian and author of Queen Victoria’s Descendants.

Ailsa Anderson, a former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, said Charlotte takes after her mother in her love of playing sports such as netball and tennis and events such as Euro 2025 provide her with a natural stepping stone into royal public duties.

She said: “It’s a logical conclusion to have her there. Women’s football is becoming more and more popular.”

While much of her brother George’s life is mapped out in front of him as a future King, it is by no means clear what, if any, official role Charlotte or her younger brother Louis, seven, will have when they grow up in a world in which European monarchies are slimming down to only a handful of working royals.

Insiders are reluctant to predict if the younger children will even end up representing the monarch or will pursue private careers. Anderson, who spent 12 years working for the Royal Family, thinks anything is possible.

“William and Catherine, to a certain extent, are going to rip up the rule book and do it their way,” she added.

Princess Charlotte shares her mother’s love of tennis and netball (Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage)

It would be ironic if Charlotte and Louis ended up with the sort of flexible approach that was denied their Uncle Harry, who after publishing his controversial memoir Spare in January 2023, said in an interview that he felt a responsibility to reform the monarchy for the sake of William and Kate’s children.

“I know that out of those three children at least one will end up like me, the spare,” he said. “And that hurts, it worries me.”

Harry’s expression of concern did not go down well with William. “He has made it clear to me that his kids are not my responsibility,” the Duke of Sussex said.

He was by no means the first ‘spare’ to run into trouble. Andrew, who occupied that role for 22 years until William was born, was his mother’s favourite, and indulged by her. He enjoyed life in the Royal Navy but it destroyed his marriage and he struggled to adjust to civilian life, abusing his position to mix money-making with official royal duties and making the fatal error of associating with millionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

His siblings Anne and Edward suffered their own problems while their aunt Margaret, one of the world’s most glamorous socialites, as the Queen’s younger sister, was forced to abandon the man she loved, Peter Townsend. She then endured an unhappy marriage to the photographer, Antony Armstrong-Jones, before divorce and health problems brought on by heavy smoking.

William and Kate are eager to give their younger children, Charlotte and Louis, more defined roles and guidance, unlike previous royal ‘spares’ (Photo: Getty Images Europe)

By the time Harry was a young man, aides had constructed plans to give him a solid structure through the Army and a distinctive royal role that dovetailed with William’s. But it was too late by then. Harry, psychologically damaged by his parents’ divorce and ultimately by his mother’s death when he was only 12, was already looking for a partial way out when he met Meghan.

The Waleses’ efforts to raise their children differently suggests the Windsors have learned lessons from the fallout that followed the Sussexes’ decision to quit their official roles, five years ago.

Charlotte has inherited her mother’s poise and, according to those who know the family, an inner strength and confidence, in spite of a difficult year in which her mother underwent cancer treatment and her grandfather, the King, was also diagnosed with cancer.

Sally Bedell Smith, an American royal biographer, thinks it likely that Charlotte will undertake official duties on behalf of the monarch in future and sees her appearances at sports events with her parents as a natural progression.

“I think this is an intelligent way to do it,” she said, adding that even in a further slimmed-down monarchy there is likely to be a role for the young princess: “I would imagine Charlotte will be part of the picture. I’m not so sure about Louis.”

Prince Andrew and Prince Harry have both lived in the shadows of their elder brothers (Photo: Hannah McKay – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, thinks the children will have more say over their future than previous generations of royals. “It’s not like it was in Charles’s youth, nowadays children make their own decisions,” she said.

“It’s just so different to when even William was brought up. I think children have immense choices now that they didn’t have even 15 years ago.”

But perhaps most encouragingly for Charlotte and Louis, there is a growing body of palace officials who recognise that they need to do more to support and protect the spares in future.

One former close aide to Andrew said that, while the Duke of York was the main author of his own misfortunes, palace staff could have helped him avoid them.

“There’s a lesson for all spares to the heir in this, and the people who advise them,” the ex-aide said.

“They are expected to just get on and do the job but they’re often woefully equipped to do it. So maybe it falls to us to do more of the heavy lifting, to try to keep them on the straight and narrow.”