The Daily Mail’s Becky English wrote a lengthy piece about what 2026 will bring for the Windsors. Personally, I think King Charles’s December health update – where he spoke about the reduction in his cancer treatments and his health improving – has thrown everyone for a loop in the royal media. They had spent much of the past year plotting and making arrangements for what would come next, and how “King William” would change this or that, and now all of that has fallen to the wayside. Instead of being relieved that they don’t have to continue printing William’s macabre “when my dad dies” briefings, it’s like royal reporters are quite disappointed. Well, Becky’s piece was actually full of “plans” for the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as some interesting asides from Charles’s camp. Some highlights:

Concerns about the Waleses’ move to Forest Lodge: As for the Prince and Princess of Wales, they are happily settled in their new home, Forest Lodge in the heart of Windsor, and planning big reveals for the New Year. In truth, some in royal circles have expressed concern that their decision to bunker down on the King’s estate risks leaving the couple isolated from Monarchy HQ at Buckingham Palace and the wider royal household. Of course, that may well be exactly what William, 43, had in mind, given his lifelong wariness of the palace machinery. Indeed, with his and Catherine’s court now firmly established in Berkshire, and staff shuttling between Kensington Palace and both Windsor Castle and nearby Frogmore House, where the couple hold most of their meetings, it is clear that this is truly change for the long-term.

William’s upcoming travels: Maintaining family life could well explain William’s preference for shorter, more ‘impactful’ trips abroad instead of the lengthy royal tours of yesteryear. He’s got a number of foreign visits pencilled in over the coming months (although not all formal invitations have yet been extended) including the US in July, combining their independence celebrations with the Fifa World Cup. He’s also preparing for his next Earthshot Prize environmental awards, to be held in India later in the year. A much-talked about trip to Australia has, I understand, been ruled out for this year, as has a solo trip by the Prince to China.

Kate has no plans to travel for work: There are no plans for a foreign visit by the Princess of Wales – yet. While there is nothing in the diary, her team are not entirely ruling one out as the ‘upwards trajectory’ in her public work following cancer treatment continues.

Keen plans: She was also buoyed, I understand, by the positive reaction of the business community to her keynote speech on the importance of private enterprise supporting children and families, and plans to use her voice more in this way. And both she and William are keen to continue to find ways to engage with the public and allow them more of a glimpse into their lives and personalities: consider Catherine’s deeply personal video messages on her cancer journey.

The big, vague changes: William has also spoken recently about ‘Change – with a capital C’ and being less ‘royal – with a small ‘r’, although he has been frustratingly light on detail. ‘The thing to remember is that a) [the Waleses] are quite conservative and b) they are traditionalists, so the idea that there will be no Trooping the Colour or Coronation [when William becomes king] is never going to be the case. They see the power of what the institution does,’ says one insider. ‘Will he question the way things are done and potentially look at doing things differently, in a more modern way? Yes, in the same way he has done with the Duchy. But while there has been a lot of talk – including from him – about change for the future, it’s important to remember who they are and how they think about things.’

[From The Daily Mail]

“The thing to remember is that a) [the Waleses] are quite conservative and b) they are traditionalists, so the idea that there will be no Trooping the Colour or Coronation is never going to be the case…” The thing to remember about William and Kate is not just that they’re very right-wing, but they’re also very lazy. They won’t “cancel” big events, but they’re certainly not going to attend most of those significant events. They plan to tweet their support. That’s the big “change” and “modernization”.” Why show up when your staff can send out a misspelled Instagram honoring the veterans or whatever??

Also: no plans for Kate to travel for work, but I’m sure she’s got big plans to travel for vacation. More ski trips, more yachting holidays, more Mustique getaways. William’s big travel plans are for the World Cup and Earthshot and that’s it. He really just… doesn’t want to visit a commonwealth country or a British realm, right?

This is the first inkling we’re getting about the official, palace-led disapproval of the Forest Lodge mess too. Charles and his camp have mostly avoided saying anything about it or briefing anything negative. I had the sense that Charles was chuckling to himself about how badly Will and Kate had miscalculated the move and the 150-acre land grab. But it looks like Charles and his team are also pissed because William is basically aiming for seclusion and distance from the operational aspects of the monarchy.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.