1. The Commonwealth
The King is keen to foster closer links with the Commonwealth, and hopes to use Kate and William’s ‘star quality’ to build relationships, as he desires to fulfil his late mother’s wish to “ensure the robustness and survival” of the institution, according to a source.
One senior civil servant said of Charles, “[He] hopes to use the symbolism tied into his mother’s legacy to offer a hand of friendship, which might get harder as the years go by.”
He is also planning to visit Canada and Australia next year at the behest of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
2. Republicanism
Australia may be questioning its position as a royal realm, but there are many in this country who have adopted an anti-monarchy stance, with protests taking place throughout the King’s reign.
Prominent anti-royal campaign group Republic has targeted key events such as the Coronation and the King’s receiving of the Scottish Honours in Edinburgh, with William and Kate’s engagements also sometimes being met with protesters.
3. Harry and Meghan
The Firm and the Sussexes remain estranged, especially since the claims made in Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary series Harry & Meghan and the Duke’s memoir Spare.
It has recently been reported that peace talks between Charles and Harry could take place in London next month, although they will be strictly behind closed doors.
While Harry and Meghan are said to be moving away from producing royal content, there are fears that if their latest projects backfire they may “revert to mud slinging”, a source told The Telegraph.
4. Prince Andrew
In spite of his invite to join the family at Balmoral, the royals are still facing a conundrum over Andrew’s presence in the public eye, despite no longer being a working royal.
Palace aides told The Times that Charles does not wish for his brother “to come out of the freezer”, adding: “Andrew is more of a long-term problem than Harry and Meghan. It feels like more stuff is going to come out on Epstein and there are still unexploded bombs there.”
It seems unlikely that Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson will have to leave Royal Lodge for the time being, as the King has no official power to remove him and Fergie is still recovering from a breast cancer operation.
5. Greater royal workload
With the stepping down of Harry, Meghan and Andrew, the number of working royals has shrunk, and most of those left are considerably advanced in years.
William and Kate and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are currently the only working members of the Firm under the age of 70, which according to a royal expert may affect their workload.
Vanity Fair royal editor Katie Nicholl told True Royalty TV’s The Royal Beat: “The current [working royals] have to be realistic about how much they can take on, and you know maybe the thousands of patronages and engagements that they carry out and have always done between them, is something that’s going to need to be redressed.
“You look at the Prince of Wales and the model that he’s adopted which is very much consolidating, and you wonder if perhaps there’s going to have to be an element of that for the wider Royal Family too.”
