What Could Happen To The 'Spare' Royals After King Charles Is Gone?

Life for Prince William hasn't been the same since Queen Elizabeth II died. Upon the late monarch's death, William became first in line to the throne, making his role within the royal family even more important. Because he's been preparing his entire life to one day become king, and because there's plenty of precedent for transfers of power, much is known about what will happen to Prince William when he becomes king. What's a little murkier, however, is what will happen to the spare royals once there's a new monarch.

Members of the British royal family have all followed unofficial protocol in providing an heir and a spare, with emphasis on the latter. The spares, the siblings whose claim to the throne gets pushed further and further down with every firstborn child, include Prince Harry, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Princess Anne, and most of their children. The closer the world gets to having a new British monarch, the more questions arise about the dynamics within the royal family under a new reign. There are, however, plenty of legitimate theories. Here's what could happen to the spare royals after King Charles III is gone.

You don't have to be a royal family superfan to know that things between Prince Harry and Prince William have been strained for years. Reports that the brothers aren't on speaking terms have circulated since Harry and Meghan Markle left their positions as senior members of the royal family, and as the monarchy gets closer and closer to a new reign, speculation regarding Harry's future continues to bubble up. In October 2025, royal insiders claimed to the Daily Beast that Harry will no longer have his title when William becomes king, including his HRH honorific (which Queen Elizabeth II told him he could no longer use when he and Meghan stepped down from their royal duties, but was never formally taken away).

Prince Harry will still be a prince by birthright no matter what his brother decides to do, but the spare will likely lose all legitimate claim to the throne with William sitting on it. Royal experts also predict that Harry will lose his dukedom, the Dukedom of Sussex. Harry doesn't earn any income from his dukedom, though, and most of his royal ties have been severed already, so the changes he will likely experience when William becomes king will mostly be formalities. Still, there are some insiders who anticipate that Harry won't even be welcome at royal events under his brother's reign. As one royal source reportedly told writer Robert Shuter (via OK! magazine), "Harry will have zero role, zero title, and zero place in the new monarchy."

Of all the spares in the Windsor family, Prince Andrew will likely see the most changes to his royal life when Prince William becomes king. Andrew, King Charles III's brother, has brought negative attention to the royal family for years due to his connection to Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender. Members of the public have long called for Andrew's formal ties with the royal family to be severed, but few of those wishes have been fulfilled. In October 2025, Andrew announced himself that he will no longer be using his royal titles (though he still gets to use "prince"), a decision that was reportedly made by several members of the royal family, including Charles and William. (Andrew giving up his royal titles means that Sarah Ferguson can no longer use her titles, either.)

But according to The Times, Prince William reportedly intends to make Andrew even less relevant once king. Apparently William plans to ban Andrew from all royal events, including his coronation. He reportedly won't be allowed at private royal events, either, making him as insignificant as Prince Harry in the eyes of the royal family. William also reportedly intends to yank Andrew's last remaining title, an action he apparently wishes had already happened. "It should have been done by Charles this week, but William knows he doesn't have the strength because of his illness. William is understanding of his father's situation. William won't be afraid to take the next step," a royal source told the Daily Beast in October 2025.

To a certain extent, royal titles are determined by birthright and natural changes in the royal family, like the death of a monarch. However, it is ultimately up to the reigning monarch to decide who gets to use what title, and those titles seem to be in flux for Prince William's spares, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Charlotte and Louis are currently third and fourth, respectively, in line for the throne, with their brother, Prince George holding the second spot and reportedly being primed to take on the responsibility one day. His path and future titles are clear, but royal experts are less certain as to what will happen for Charlotte and Louis.

Once William becomes king and receives his inheritance from King Charles III, Charlotte and Louis will be able to be called Princess and Prince, respectively, of Wales. Louis could potentially be given the Dukedom of Cambridge, which would come with a new title, and it's possible that Charlotte will become the Princess Royal. However, there are some royal experts who believe there is a strong possibility that William will informally park Charlotte and Louis' titles until they are adults, allowing them to decide on their own if they'd like to use the titles. Though an unprecedented move for a modern reigning monarch, opting out of having children use titles isn't unheard of in the royal family. For example, Anne, Princess Royal did not have her children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, use their offered titles. "I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles. So I think that was probably the right thing to do," Anne said in a 2020 interview with Vanity Fair.

Every royal family has an heir and a spare, and of Prince Andrew's two children, Princess Eugenie is the latter. She's 12th in line to the throne, meanwhile her sister, Princess Beatrice, is ninth. As it stands, Eugenie is not a senior member of the royal family. Though she does represent the royal family at some functions (every member of the royal family is technically representing The Firm when they're in public just by association), she's not a working member of the royal family. However, that may change when Prince William becomes king.

Prince William and Princess Eugenie already have a close relationship, but royal experts suspect that Eugenie will take on more responsibilities within the royal family under the future monarchy, as will Beatrice. "They're valuable assets and I'm certain they'll get involved with royal duties when William becomes King," royal author Ingrid Stewart told New Day Magazine (via Hello! magazine). "I see them taking on the sort of role that Princess Alexandra and the Duchess of Kent had when they were younger, working very hard doing philanthropic work, but not taking centre stage," he added. However, other royal experts wonder how Eugenie and Beatrice will react to William when he makes a formal decision regarding their father. Some suspect that Eugenie and Beatrice will not take kindly to Andrew's future status as a royal, and that could make a difference in their willingness to participate in royal family matters. Eugenie and Beatrice could also have their titles stripped by William, though the titles would remain intact if the princesses become working members of the royal family.

Although Meghan Markle has made a comment in the past that led some people to wonder if her even children know that they're actual royalty, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are sixth and seventh in line for the throne, right behind their father, Prince Harry. Nothing will change the order of succession, but Archie and Lilibet — Lilibet technically being the "spare" of her own sibling group — may be in danger of losing their titles when their uncle becomes king.

As it stands, there is a legal protection in place that allows non-working royals to use princely titles. However, sources dished to the Daily Beast in October 2025 that Prince William apparently intends to remove that legal protection within the first few weeks of his reign, which would leave Archie and Lilibet without titles. This is the same action that would leave Harry, Andrew, Beatrice, and Eugenie without titles, too. 

According to royal sources, William has been influenced by Queen Margrethe of Denmark, who stripped four of her grandchildren of their titles in 2022 in order to let them have more control over their own lives. While William has not formally announced all the moves he plans to make once he takes the throne — especially with regards to stripping titles — he has made it clear that he's up for mixing things up a bit. As he said on an October 2025 episode of "The Reluctant Traveller," "Change is on my agenda — change for good. And I embrace that and I enjoy that change. I don't fear it."

The public doesn't hear much about Prince Edward, at least in the United States, but he does have great influence within the royal family. Another spare in his family and 15th in line for the monarchy, Edward is very involved in royal happenings, especially global, and his role has increased since King Charles III's cancer diagnosis. "Both Edward and Sophie have stepped up their engagements ... The couple conduct their duties across the UK and overseas, with Edward visiting South Africa, Uganda and the island of St Helena, this year alone. It was also noted that Edward told his brother 'I know you've got it' in a touching behind-the-scenes moment at the coronation," royal correspondent Danielle Stacey said in Hello! magazine.

Given Edward's good standing within the royal family and his close relationship with his nephew, Prince William, royal experts anticipate that Edward will become a trusted advisor to the future king when the time comes. Edward also has two children, Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount James, Earl of Wessex, both of whom have not used their royal titles since birth as their parents refused them on their behalf in an effort to have a more normal upbringing. However, sources have reported that William is considering offering them both greater roles in the royal operation once he becomes king, which could bring more attention to Edward's entire family.

Anne, Princess Royal, is another spare who's rather low on the line of succession, sitting in the 18th spot. Still, Anne is a fixture within the royal family, and she has been for decades. Anne had the most royal engagements — 474 — of anyone in her family in 2024, and she's been picking up slack in light of her oldest brother's illness. And no royal expert anticipates that her work life will change much when William becomes king as she has already expressed her plans without mention of who's monarch. "She has said her plan is to push on [with work] until she is 80, then start winding down a bit, and then copy the [late] Duke of Edinburgh and wind down completely at 90," a royal source told the Sunday Times.

As far as her relationship with William goes, sources have indicated there may be some tension between the two as Anne is apparently irritated by William's handling of certain royal duties. "She's still doing most of the investitures [at Windsor] even though William lives there. It annoys her," a source said. That said, it's unlikely that will make much of an impact on Anne's life as a working member of the royal family when William is monarch.