Royal Family Members Who Will Never Be Working Royals

Although there are many members of the British royal family, full-time working royals are only those who dedicate their time to attending royal events, going on diplomatic trips, overseeing charities, and otherwise supporting the crown. These members do not have careers outside of their position. They are expected to dedicate all of their working hours to the monarchy.

In recent years, the number of working royals has decreased, beginning with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping back from their positions. Then, Prince Andrew gave up his duties following his association with Jeffrey Epstein. Later, Queen Elizabeth II died, leaving King Charles III to take her place. As of this writing, the only full-time senior royals are King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Princess Catherine, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.

With both Charles and Catherine mostly out of commission while seeking treatment for cancer, many key members will need to take time for themselves and their families. These changes have many wondering who can step in to fill in the gaps. Several lesser-known royals may be called upon to serve, but others, as detailed below, are far less likely to take on the mantle.

Although most of us know key players in the royal family like King Charles, Prince William, and Princess Catherine, many lesser-known family members lead quiet lives out of the public eye. Lady Sarah Chatto is one such royal family member you may have never heard of. Sarah Chatto is the daughter of Princess Margaret and the niece of the late Queen Elizabeth. Although she's not a working royal, she's very close to her family. Sarah was Queen Elizabeth II's only niece, giving the two a special bond. "Sarah and Her Majesty the Queen had a very close and unique relationship," royal editor Emily Nash told Hello! magazine after the queen's passing. "She will no doubt be grieving and processing this in private and we can expect to see her with the rest of the royal family in the coming days."

Despite living a quieter life, Sarah gained attention after being featured in the BBC documentary "Elizabeth at 90: A Family Tribute." Many viewers were touched by Sarah's down-to-earth nature and her love for the queen. Despite how she charmed the public, though, it is unlikely we'll see Sarah taking on a more official role as a working royal. An acquaintance of the family described her to the Daily Mail, saying, "Sarah is very unassuming; shy and almost embarrassed with no grandeur at all." With her quiet personality, she's shown little interest in a public-facing position with the royals.

Another lesser-known royal family member is Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick. Edward is the late Queen Elizabeth II's first cousin twice removed. He has attended many royal events, but he doesn't have the pressure or expectations that come with being a working royal.

Despite his family ties, Edward told Tatler that he had a very normal childhood, and the significance of his royal connections took him time to come to terms with. "Only with age — and with a degree of cynicism — can you possibly tell that some people treat you differently because you haven't got a Mr in front of your name," he said. Because he's not a working royal, Edward has struck out on his own, creating a career in fashion. He launched his own menswear line, Fidir, in 2017. A career in fashion may be unexpected for a member of the royal family, but it is one he is passionate about.

Edward is very unlikely to ever become a working royal. His relation to the crown is more distant than others, and his current title, Lord of Downpatrick, is a courtesy title rather than anything official. On top of that, he has his entire career and life outside of the royal family and has little experience as a public-facing royal. He's also been removed from the line of succession because he's Catholic, making him ineligible to inherit the crown.

Lord Downpatrick's younger sister, Lady Marina Windsor, is another royal who we're not expecting to see as a working royal. Her royal family connections have given her a privileged life with many exciting and interesting opportunities. While attending the University of Edinburgh, she acted in several plays and studied French and Portuguese. Since graduating, she has worked with charitable organizations and done some modeling.

Her experience in philanthropy may make her seem like the perfect candidate to step up as a working royal. After all, she could continue charitable work in that role and do a lot of good from that position. However, like her brother, Lady Marina is not in the line of succession. She was a part of the royal line when she was born; however, in 2008, she was removed when she was confirmed into the Catholic church. Being Catholic automatically disqualifies her from the line to the throne due to the Act of Settlement of 1701. While this may sound like an archaic rule, it still stands. According to the act, only a protestant can inherit the throne — and it is unlikely that someone removed from the line of succession would be the one called on to be a working royal.

Lady Amelia Windsor is the youngest sibling of Edward Windsor and Lady Marina Windsor. Because her ties to the throne are more distant, she had a fairly normal upbringing but has gained some public attention over the years due to her stunning features. Her looks even inspired the media to dub her the "most beautiful member of the royal family." She's a successful fashion model who has worked with top designer brands like Channel, Dolce and Gabanna, and Bulgari.

She also has over 100,000 Instagram followers and uses the platform to keep people updated on her fashion, travels, and day-to-day life. Her social media feed is quite refreshing, as it is rare for royals to have a personal social media presence. This difference is exactly why you will likely never see her as a working royal. Although she may be popular, her fashion and lifestyle don't match the more buttoned-up image the royal family likes to portray. The young royal enjoys sharing her perspective through fashion and photography and shows no sign of changing her public persona to meet the demands of a working royal.

In years past, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, would have been a royal the monarchy could lean on to do extra work during a trying time. However, he's since fallen from grace. As the third child of Queen Elizabeth II, Andrew is close to the throne and was set up for a life as a high-profile royal. But when his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became publicized, public opinion turned on Andrew. The prince was also accused of sexual assault by Virginia Giuffre, who was also an alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein. Although the prince denies any wrongdoing, he stepped back from his royal duties. In 2022, following the public scandal caused by his affiliation and alleged crimes, Queen Elizabeth stripped her son of his military titles and patronages. Although he retained his royal title, Andrew was ousted from his previously celebrated status.

More recently, Prince Andrew has benefited from the royal's health crisis and made public appearances that he may not have if others were available. Still, it is highly unlikely for his duties to return to what they once were. Even with the royals in crisis, it's impossible to forget the allegations made against Andrew. His reputation has been tarnished, and it would be a bad look for the monarchy to have him as their representative. As PR expert Evan Nierman told Business Insider, "The family has much more to lose than gain by continuing to appear with Andrew, so there is certainly a case to be made for keeping their distance."

With the shortage of working royals, many have thought of Zara Tindall as an excellent option to help fill in where needed. As Zara is the daughter of Princess Anne and the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, she is fairly close to the crown. Although she's not an official working royal, Zara does attend many royal events and is quite close to high-ranking family members. Even so, some say stepping into a more official role is unlikely for Zara. Although Zara happily attends weddings, celebrations, and other royal events, public engagements are "not her thing," Grant Harrold, the king's former butler, told Cheatsheet.

Furthermore, Zara and her husband, Mike Tindall, play an essential role as non-working royals. "The Tindall family are close enough to the Royal Family to know what goes on behind the scenes but distant enough to be able to speak more freely. Every public interaction that the Royal Family have with the Tindalls results in positive headlines," PR expert Andy Barr told GB News (via Express). "This is because of the fun family vibe that Zara, Mike and their children give off."

Having more relatable public figures like Zara and her family is great for the House of Windsor's public image, even without her becoming a working royal.

Like his sister Zara Tindall, Peter Phillips does not have an official title and is not a working royal. Despite being the children of Princess Anne and grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II, Peter and Zara did not inherit a title as their father, Captain Mark Phillips, was not a prince. However, often in these cases, the monarchy still offers titles to such close relatives. Nevertheless, Princess Anne chose not to have her children go by prince and princess.

At the time of Phillips's birth, many were surprised by his lack of title. Patrick Montague‐Smith, editor of Debrett's Peerage, told The New York Times that this made it unlikely Phillip would take on any official duties. "He will probably just live quietly in the country and I don't suppose a title matters much for the life he will lead," Montague-Smith said. Not having a title has offered him a level of anonymity and freedom throughout his life, and it would unlikely for this to change.

With a sparse line-up of working royals, many people have suggested Princess Beatrice as a possible royal to fill out the ranks. Beatrice is the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, putting her ninth in the line of succession. Although she's not as well known as some of the working royals, she's frequently in attendance at weddings, coronations, and other big events, making her an already recognizable figure for the British people.

She seems the perfect option for a working royal, but her father's reputation may make that impossible. As highlighted, Andrew had his title stripped after his connection to Jeffrey Epstein became widely known. While Beatrice is not associated with any of her father's scandals, the close relation may hurt her public image. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams pointed out this problem to GB News. In his opinion, promoting Princess Beatrice as a working royal would prove problematic for the crown due to her "link with Prince Andrew." He added, "It just seems unlikely there's going to be a change for the time being."

As the younger sister of Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie faces the same obstacles to becoming a working royal. At this point, the negative public view of their father, Prince Andrew, makes it unlikely for either princess to take on a more significant role in the royal family. When it comes to the sisters moving up in ranks, Richard Fitzwilliams said, "Certainly for the moment, it's unlikely that they would be asked to do more." On top of that, as the younger sister, Eugenie yields seniority to Beatrice. It would be unusual for her to become a full-time royal unless Beatrice also did.

Beyond any obstacles presented by their father, neither princess has shown a significant amount of interest in serving the crown. Because they aren't working royals, Eugenie and Beatrice have been free to live more normal lives. They've also built their own careers and followed passions outside the royal sphere. Plus, after the birth of Eugenie's second child in 2023, she has plenty to focus on at home without balancing additional engagements for the firm.

As the youngest son of King Charles, Prince Harry is one of the most well-known members of the royal family. For much of his life, he was a key and working member of the monarchy. However, since stepping down from his royal duties, it is highly unlikely that Prince Harry will return to them in any official capacity. In January 2020, Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, gave up their positions as senior royals. The couple made this decision after struggling with media intrusion and growing tensions between themselves and other family members.

Current hardships for senior royals may make some wonder if Prince Harry will once again take a more pivotal role. But that would be quite a difficult transition, especially considering his relationship with his brother, Prince William, has become even more distant after the release of his memoir, "The Spare."

In his book, Harry details many disagreements with him and his family, even describing a physical altercation he claims to have had with William. Following the book's release, a source told US Weekly, "At this point, [William's] got no plans to speak to Harry. He's come to terms with the fact [that] he's lost his little brother and quite possibly for life." Additionally, following the king and princess' cancer diagnoses, royal expert Tom Quinn told the Mirror, "As I understand it from Palace contacts, [Harry and Meghan] are kidding themselves if they think they will be invited back in any way." Indeed, it would be quite strange for Harry to rejoin the ranks and continue with business as usual after creating such a divide between himself and the rest of the royals.

Considering how complicated it would be for Prince Harry to return to the fold, it should be no surprise that Meghan Markle will most likely never be a full-time working royal again. It's no secret that Meghan struggled to adjust to life as a duchess. A little over a year after stepping back from royal duties, Meghan and Harry took part in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, where many unpleasant moments from Meghan's time as a royal were revealed. Among other things, she discussed racist remarks made by family members about her son's skin color, claimed Princess Catherine made her cry on her wedding day, and discussed having suicidal thoughts. With all that in mind, it is doubtful that Meghan would, or could, return to a position that made her so miserable.

On top of that, public opinion is very split on Meghan. While some commend her and Harry's honesty, others criticize it. Twitter was divided when Oprah's interview with Meghan and Harry was nominated for an Emmy. Many users made it clear they didn't believe anything in the interview, with one stating, "Surely this program should have been in the category 'fiction'???" Another said, "Yes: this interview with the toxic two should win Emmy for best drama, fiction and fantasy!" While Meghan has plenty of supporters, the royals likely wouldn't call on such a polarizing figure at this time.

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