Prince William and Princess Kate's "Significant Shift" from How Queen Elizabeth Operated "Redefined their Role"

Prince William and Princess Kate know that the future of the monarchy is uncertain, and they have already laid the groundwork to modernize the thousand-year-old institution. While they are prioritizing social media content and relating to a younger generation, they have already made a “significant shift” from the way past generations have approached their royal roles. In his new book, William and Catherine: The Monarchy’s New Era: The Inside Story, Russell Myers explained that the Prince and Princess of Wales have already “redefined the pillars of their public role and the results they wanted to achieve with their platform.”

The biggest change that Prince William and Princess Kate have made in their approach to the monarchy is how many organizations they take under their wing. “Queen Elizabeth II was the patron of more than 600 organisations during her reign, while Prince Philip was associated with nearly 1,000 throughout his life,” Myers explained. “William and Catherine recognised that they would not be able to make the impact they wanted by spreading themselves so thinly.” Prince William and Princess Kate have slowly added key patronages and organizations to their royal resume, but not nearly as many as the senior royals who have come before them.

“They wanted to slim down the number of patronages they were associated with, focusing far more of their energy into the causes to which they believed they could make the biggest difference,” Myers wrote, explaining that the less-is-more approach has “redefined the role for the global impact they are having.” Rather than representing hundreds of small British organizations, Prince William and Princess Kate prioritize larger causes that can be viewed on a global scale.

In the book, a former courtier close to the couple said they were focusing on “the idea of creating long-lasting projects that had the capacity to create generational change,” often linking organizations or charities together to approach a larger subject like men’s mental health or early childhood research. The Prince and Princess of Wales decided together that they would “take on less patronages but focus on larger issues at the heart of everyday life,” the courtier revealed. Rather than lending their name to as many charities as possible, they would try to make an impact on key global issues. “That would be their legacy.”