Princess Kate and Prince William have been said to “understand fully” the stakes of the monarchy becoming alienated from Britain’s youth.
Two veteran royal experts have weighed in on the significance of their task as the next generation of royals and the future King and Queen.
The significant change in British society following the death of the enduringly popular Queen Elizabeth II and ascension of King Charles in 2022 posed questions to some about the long-term future of the institution.
In 2023, one year into Charles’s reign, YouGov found that just 30 per cent of 18 to 24-year-old’s said that monarchy was “good for Britain” – compared with 77% among the over-65’s.
Prince William and Princess Kate have been said to ‘fully understand’ the need to connect the Royal Family with young people
Two years later in April 2025, an Ipsos poll revealed that only 19 per cent of 18 to 34-year-old’s felt that the monarchy was modernising.
Royal expert Rafe Heydel-Mankoo explained that: “Nothing is more important than forging a new bond between the monarchy and the youth of this country.”
To that end, he stressed: “It is fundamentally important for the survival of the institution of the monarchy that it remains relevant.”
He believed that there would therefore be an understanding among senior royals that maintaining a link with the nation’s youth was one of their key tasks moving forward into the Carolingian era and beyond.
Royal experts have weighed in to share that ‘nothing in more important’ than building a relationship between young people
Fellow expert Richard Fitzwilliams believed the Royal Family had a natural disadvantage connecting with the youth, who he felt were naturally held anti-establishment beliefs.
The expert believed the firm’s ultimate “establishment aura” made building bridges with young people “very difficult”.
Fitzwilliams also observed that the ongoing feud between the Royal Family and Duke and Duchess of Sussex had been “damaging”.
Even with the mounting issues, Heydel-Mankoo felt there was a way to bridge the generational gap.
Rafe Heydel-Mankoo believed the solution may be found in the Waleses children
He added that William and Kate would “fully understand” the task that lay ahead of them.
He hoped that their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, would be the key to “reconnecting in a new way with the institution” as they grew older.
“(The Royal Family’s) fundamental role in this country is being seen to support the civic institutions of this country, the voluntary ethic. The late Queen used to say it has to be seen to be believed, and the monarchy must be seen to remain popular,” he observed.
However, he accepted that it may take some time for the Wales children to be able to fulfil that role – leaving the Royal Family “very thin on the ground”.
The expert felt that extended members of the Royal Family, like Zara and Mike Tindall, could also step in
“Hopefully this only be an issue for the next 10 to 15 years, as we wait to see the children of the Prince of Wales go up and take on more duties themselves,” he said.
In the meantime, the expert wondered if other members of the the extended Royal Family could step in to bulk up numbers and present a more youthful image.
“We could also see the Duke of Edinburgh’s children’s children the next decade also step up to that role, if necessary,” he said.
“Zara Tindal, she and her husband are extremely popular with the public. Now, they aren’t Royal Highness’s, there’s also an opportunity there.”
He concluded: “And so we should be back to a rather healthier numbers in the years to come.”
