How Prince William And Kate Middleton Are Taking Over The Royal Family

The British monarchy has undergone some serious changes in recent memory, and will continue to do so in the future. In 2020, the royal family was rocked by Sussexit — an unprecedented move that eventually saw Prince Harry's departure from royal duties and the uprooting of his life to suburban California alongside wife Meghan Markle. And now with the 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth experiencing some concerning health issues (you may recall October's hospital visit), the future of the monarchy remains up in the air.

Though Prince Charles is currently the first in line to succeed Queen Elizabeth, a series of PR disasters have long marred the royal family — leaving Charles with a widening mess to clean up. His brother, Prince Andrew, stepped away from royal duties after ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were discovered and a disastrous interview irreversibly damaged his reputation. Charles himself has also come under fire in recent memory. During Meghan and Harry's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duchess of Sussex revealed an unnamed family member inquired about son Archie's skin tone, as both Archie and Meghan are mixed-race. It was eventually reported that Charles was the family member in question.

With a popularity rating of 45% amongst the British public (per YouGov), the Prince of Wales isn't necessarily the monarchy's hottest commodity. Son Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, however, could eventually be the royal family's saving grace.

Talk about pressure! With popularity ratings of 62% and 60%, respectively, Prince William and Kate Middleton are leading the royal family to a brighter future. With the 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth sitting atop the British throne and the 73-year-old Prince Charles set to succeed her, there lies a certain disparity between the senior royals and the youthful British population. The Cambridges, however, are working diligently to remediate this problem.

"It's the third generation taking the lead — we're living in a time, the Cambridge's are the bridge within the monarchy," royal expert Dickie Arbiter told the Daily Mail. Discussing last week's Christmas caroling event at Westminster Abbey, Arbiter mentioned that, "The carol service was Kate's idea — but it's one way for other members of the royal family, who have all been involved in one way or another on the COVID front, to come together and say [thank you]."

Arbiter noted that we live "in a society where a lot relies on volunteers — and during COVID — one thing the royal family can do is bring people together to say [thank you]" — which is exactly what the 39-year-old royals are doing. "It was very much the Duchess of Cambridge's initiative, who works very closely together with the Duke," said the expert, adding that, "The royal family were at the forefront of thanking people who have done exceptional work in the community."