Prince William’s Plans for the Royal Family Are “Worrying” Insiders

He’s taking King Charles’s approach to slimming down the monarchy to heart.

After news of King Charles hoping for a “slimmed-down monarchy” and the Danish royal family actually stripping members of their titles, royal families everywhere are looking a little different these days. But there could be even more change if Prince William has his wish, according to Richard Eden, editor of the Daily Mail Diary. The insider says that seeing so few members of the British royal family at last weekend’s Trooping the Colour could be a normal occurrence and that William is taking his dad’s wishes to heart and may even shrink the royal inner circle even more.

After speaking to one of William’s closest friends, Eden said “what he told me left me worried about the future of the monarchy.”

Specifically, Eden said that William wanted to cut the number of senior working royals even more—and may go as far as keeping some of his kids from taking on duties as working royals.

“When the older members of the family retire, His Royal Highness won’t be inviting anyone else to become working royals,” Eden added, according to the Mirror. “It remains to be seen if he will even want his two younger children to be working royals.”

The balcony had been much more crowded in the past, with William’s cousins Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice joining him, as well as Meghan Markle and Prince Harry appearing for photos before they stepped away from the family. This year, it was just King Charles and his closest family members (the official roster included the Cambridges; Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence; and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their daughter, Lady Louise). The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent were on either side, making for what the Mirror called a “sparse” balcony. Apparently, Lord Frederick Windsor, the son Prince Michael of Kent, and his sister, Lady Gabriella Windsor, were present, but didn’t appear on the balcony for the photo op.

“That is what William wants,” Eden’s source adds. “He sees the small European monarchies as the model for the future.”

Before she passed, Queen Elizabeth reportedly requested that only working royals appear on the balcony. Eden hopes that William changes his mind and permanently welcomes more members of the royals into the fold, including Beatrice and Eugenie, Lady Amelia, Lady Marina, Lady Louise, and the Earl of Wessex.