In 2023, I pointed out that the entire royal-media apparatus decided that Prince Harry’s Spare was “actually a story about how Harry is mad because he was always in William’s shadow.” Instead of delving into the actual story of neglect, grief, mental health, physical abuse and dealing with his family’s constant jealousy, royal reporters decided that Harry was always mad that he wasn’t the heir! Given that the left-behinds always insisted that they never read Spare, I can only assume that this false summary of Harry’s message was provided by courtiers to the Windsors as well. It would explain some of the palace messaging about the Wales children too.
Over the summer, we heard yet again that the Prince and Princess of Wales want to “break the spare cycle” with their children. An implicit admission that the heir/spare dynamic is inherently dysfunctional and that perhaps Harry was right to walk away and start a new life, perhaps? Of course not. William and Kate don’t actually want to break any cycle which benefits them. Hilariously, there’s a new reason why the Wales kids will “break the spare cycle” though – it’s because Charlotte is a girl, you see.
The Prince and Princess of Wales’s children will break the cycle of heir and spare sibling rivalry thanks to a more ‘normal childhood’ and modernised line of succession, royal experts have claimed.
William’s daughter and sons are less likely to suffer the same bitter ‘rift’ he and his brother, the Duke of Sussex, fell to as a result of changes made to 21st century monarchy, insiders speaking in a new Channel 5 documentary have shared. Some believe that this, in part, will be due to the end of a centuries-old primogeniture tradition, which ended in 2013, previously dictating that the first born son would take the throne, and that any resulting spare must be succeeded by the next born male.
‘For the first time in British history, the spare is a princess, even though she has a younger brother,’ Dr Nige Fletcher, a political and contemporary historian, explained. ‘Princess Charlotte is in line after George, after a change in the law, and she now outranks her brother, Louis.’
Ten-year-old Charlotte, will be the first to benefit from the long-needed update, which previously sidelined Princess Anne and made Prince Andrew the spare to Charles. This will also open the door to more harmonious relations between siblings, according to Tom Quinn, historian and author of Scandals of the Royal Palaces.
‘It will make things a lot easier because there won’t be two males like two deer clashing antlers anymore,’ he remarked.
Speaking in the documentary, others suggested that the future will be different for the youngest successors because they are being raised as equals and have a more ‘normal’ upbringing – a ‘key to unpacking and shifting expectations of our heirs and spares’. Ailsa Anderson, former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth II also said they would have more ‘freedom and choice than their father had’.
Again, what came between William and Harry wasn’t “sibling rivalry,” nor is Harry “angry” with William because William is the heir. This is quite an admission too: “they would have more ‘freedom and choice than their father had’.” So… Harry was supposed to never seek freedom from the institution because he was ALWAYS supposed to support William and be William’s wingman and be William’s designated scapegoat and do whatever William ordered. All because William never had freedom, but his children will have freedom to do whatever they want! All of the stuff about the spare dynamic not existing because Charlotte is a girl is bizarre as well. Brothers and sisters can have sibling rivalries too.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.
- Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince George, Prince Louis of Wales and Princess Charlotte seen on the palace balcony to view the VE80 Celebrations and Red Arrows Flypast on Monday 5 May 2025 at Buckingham Palace, London. . Picture,Image: 995381750, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights – Julie Edwards/Avalon.Red, Model Release: no, Credit line: Julie Edwards/Avalon
- Princess Charlotte and Prince George seen near the Queen Victoria Memorial to view the VE80 Celebration Parade on Monday 5 May 2025 at Buckingham Palace, London. . Picture,Image: 995388031, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights – Julie Edwards/Avalon.Red, Model Release: no, Credit line: Julie Edwards/Avalon
- Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince Louis seen near the Queen Victoria Memorial to view the VE80 Celebration Parade on Monday 5 May 2025 at Buckingham Palace, London. . Picture,Image: 995388352, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights – Julie Edwards/Avalon.Red, Model Release: no, Credit line: Julie Edwards/Avalon
- Camera Press Rota 04734688. The 80th Anniversary of VE Day. Members of the royal family watch the VE 80 Parade flypast at Buckingham Palace. 05/05/2025,Image: 995421982, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Camera Press Rota, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Joanne Davidson/Avalon
- Wimbledon, UNITED KINGDOM Prominent personalities filled the stands at Wimbledon’s men’s final, watching Jannik Sinner claim the title. Pictured: Princess Charlotte, Catherine Middleton BACKGRID USA 13 JULY 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
- Wimbledon, UNITED KINGDOM Prominent personalities filled the stands at Wimbledon’s men’s final, watching Jannik Sinner claim the title. Pictured: Princess Charlotte BACKGRID USA 13 JULY 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
- Members of the British Royal Family attend a Christmas service at St. Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham estate Featuring: Princess Charlotte, Prince George, William Prince of Wales Where: Sandringham, United Kingdom When: 25 Dec 2024 Credit: Cover Images
- Trooping the Colour 2025 ceremony, marking the monarch’s official birthday Featuring: Prince William of Wales, Catherine Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis Where: London, United Kingdom When: 14 Jun 2025 Credit: Cover Images
- Royals attend day fourteen of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William, Princess Charlotte, Prince George Where: London, United Kingdom When: 13 Jul 2025 Credit: Andrew Matthews/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Ah yes, female spares have it better. Just ask Margaret!
To be fair, Anne was the spare for a while and she’s definitely faired better.
I’ve always felt that Charlotte being a girl would keep her from being too much of a scapegoat. The press and the palace are going to want to play her up as Diana’s heir.
It’s Louis who they’ll consider the scapegoat. He’s an extra boy, so they can use him to make his brother look good. They’re already starting with it, making him the mischevious one to George’s seriousness.
But Anne faired better in no small part because she:
1) eschewed some of the royal BS (refusing titles for her children, etc.); and
2) STILL does more royal work than anyone else.
In other words, my hot take is that Anne’s “doing better” is precisely because she was willing to do more work for less royal shine.
Still sounds like the short end of the spare stick to me…
Also, ignoring the fact that Harry was the only male 2nd child spare in the last 3 generations, so Charlotte being a girl is hardly revolutionary, all this updated primogeniture law means is that now the 2nd born, regardless of gender, is the next-in-line-spare. So…how does that change things? It just means she is in the exact same role as Harry was.
Until they really understand what Harry was talking about in Spare, they will not fix the problems of the heir/spare dynamic.
So, sorry Charlotte – looks like you’re stuck no matter what, since they refuse to learn from or listen to H.
(But yes, I also agree, the press is already locking Louis into the scapegoat role of spare, so she’ll be safe in some ways, and the heir/spare terror dynamics will continue with L instead)
Anne was only the spare when she was a small child, and then Andrew became the spare because the primogeniture laws favoring younger brothers over older sisters didn’t change until Kate was first pregnant. Her life very well may have been messier if that wasn’t the case. I mean, look at Andrew.
Anne was spared because she conformed to every upper class convention expected of her–she was pretty in an upperclass horsey way. She loves horses and country pursuits. She’s not particularly intelligent or charismatic in a way that could challenge her brother. She’s dull and dutiful. Charlotte will be acceptable ONLY if she is Anne 2.0–pretty, but not too pretty. Not too smart. Not too outspoken. Not too charismatic. Thin. Likes horses and country stuff. If she deviates one iota from this, the media will make her life hell. The media thinks they own the royal children, and that they have a legitimate say in how those children are raised, how they’re dressed, what activities they pursue. I hate that for them. I also have my doubts that their parents will protect them from those serious boundary stompers. The Wales seem determined to continue the generational trauma instead of trying to stop it.
@Lauren, first of all, as others already stated above, Ann was a spare for just her childhood, before her brother was born. So, Ann having it easy is like Charlotte (or Margaret) having it easy NOW (caps for emphasis only), as a child(ren). So, in this regard, Ann can’t be used as a yard stick.
Secondly, Ann is the poster child of upper-class female conformity I have ever read about. She accepted and conformed to every single expectation of her and her offspring, no questions asked. Even if she had accepted titles for her children, her children would still have had it easy because they all were raised to conform to the royal norms and never ever challenge anything, just stay in your lane and do as you are told. Consider the York and Wessex children, all titled but never challenge anything, so the media pretty much leaves them alone, they all do as they’re told and stay out of the way.
Charlotte will only have it easy if she lives her life just like Ann, stay in your lane, don’t challenge the system, don’t ask questions, do as you are told. Any attempts to be Prince Harry’s version of the spare will not be tolerated in any way, shape or form. And Charlotte is being raised to conform to the system’s norms and not to challenge nor ask anything, period. The UK media will want and expect Margaret out of Charlotte, end of. Now, whether Charlotte, when she grows up, will be what is expected of her is yet to be determined later in her life. Let’s watch and see.
@DK, Anne also does not work with the Rota – which was the main reason that Harry and Megan wanted to be half in half out. I think Harry said it was the Summer before they left that he approached someone or some persons about not wanting to deal with the Rota and was told that because they were working royals they had to (similar to “we pay, you pose” ).. That was when the idea of half in half out came up. They ended up leaving, in good part, simply because they didn’t want to have to deal with the Rota and they otherwise would have been forced to. Anne doesn’t have to.
I tell ya, if Charlotte gets better grades than George she’s going to be in trouble. They won’t like that. But then again, is there even an equivalent of Eton for girls? I’m sure that’s by design, don’t want the smart girls showing up any of the boys.
It’s not true that Ann doesn’t deal with the rota. ALL working royals, of which Ann is, are obligated to work within the rota system. It’s just that the rota is not interested in anything Ann does, so they don’t get in her business. She has nothing interesting to write about, so they don’t cover her, don’t attend any of her engagements, they simply have no interest in anything concerning Ann, period. If she didn’t work with the rota, reports of how rude, unkind and abrasive she is towards other people wouldn’t have come out.
Yes I was gonna say Margaret didn’t fair so well.
Was just coming here to say that about Margaret!
Princess Margaret would like a word.
Sadly these kids won’t break anything because their parents have played along and fed the beast that will control their lives and imagine forever now. Unless they follow Prince Harry’s lead and leave they are going to live under the control of the tabloids, that is their future they will be stuck with because WanK was to busy with their hate campaign against the Sussex’s to worry about protecting their own children’s future and making real change.
Insert .gif of ✨️ Viola Davis✨️ as “Annalise Keating” SHMFH as she GATHERS her 🤬 to go…
Especially since the Royal leaders in 🇬🇧 that have been ICONIC & NOT MONSTERS😠…are ALL QUEENS (2-Elizabeths & 1-Victoria)…like the “Spare” won’t be thinking of THAT!
Perfect Annalise Keating moment. To which I say, we’ll see. I hope those kids have it better. Considering that family’s toxic relationship with the tabloids, I won’t hold my breath. But I wish it for them.
Yea Charlotte will be ignored because she’s female and Louis will become the spare. When was the last time he was allowed at an event with either parent just by himself? Never. The othering of Louis has already begun. And Charlotte will be made into a clone of her mother by the press.
Charlotte has already become her brother’s keeper in public. If you observe the children at public events you can see she already makes sure that George know what to do, where to stand, etc. She has also managed Louis sometimes. If Louis is being cast as the rascal (by the media), then Charlotte is cast as the trusty wing woman (by the institution/her parents).
She may not get the male spare treatment because she is a girl but the BM will skip right past that to make sure Loius is the clown. By the time they are in their late teens their age difference wont matter,they still need their scapegoat.
It would certainly be better if they are treated as equals, but are they? William certainly doesn’t have the same regard for woman’s football as he does for men’s. Will he take George to the final if England are playing in it, where ever it is.
Right! I was coming in to say that. They are NOT treated as equals. George is the one who goes to soccer matches with William. Charlotte only got to go this summer because it was becoming too obvious that he doesn’t take her.
the heir and spare dynamic isn;t just about personality – although that plays a role. Its more about one sibling being raised higher than the others. And we absolutely are seeing that with George.
Harry wasn’t angry that William was the heir. Harry was angry that he was treated as if he wasn’t worth anything because he WASN’T the heir. He was angry that William and Kate lived in a London mansion with custom furniture and decor while he lived at Nott cott and Meghan used her credit card to buy them a new sofa. He was angry that he was treated as a second class citizen in the family.
For ten years Princess Anne was the spare – and she is still working as her status hadn’t changed at all. Prince Andrew in comparism…
Though some media people talk about Charlotte “supporting” George. which is in the same territory as Harry “supporting” William. She needs to have a life of her own instead of being
the support to George.
The children have been stereotyped. Will says George is always perfectly behaved. And Charlotte “corrects her brothers” and Louis is “cheeky”
I think Charles and Anne work well together because Anne was never Charles’ spare.
Charles and Andrew do not work well together, perhaps because Andrew was the spare. I wonder if Andrew would not be as horrid as he is if he weren’t Charles’ spare. Some of the identity/personality markers the tabloids tried to attach to Harry were similar to what they hung on Andrew (and perhaps Margaret). The rapscallion, the drunk, n’er do well, etc.
The spare must always be damaged so that the public will never want to fantasize of the birth order being reversed.
I don’t know if the tabloids with spare Charlotte because she is a female and put all the damage on Louis. A damaged Louis will not protect George, so perhaps not.
Charles and Anne work well because she’s never sought the spotlight in her work, appearance, words, or choices.
She’s always been content to show up in her sensible clothes to the sensible events and act perfectly sensible. She will NEVER outshine the monarch/heir– exactly as the Royal Machine demands.
Can Charlotte lead the same charisma-free life? Maybe. (Her mother is certainly trying!) Margaret couldn’t, Diana couldn’t, Harry couldn’t, Meghan definitely couldn’t, and their lives were made miserable because of it.
Anne was the spare until she was 11. And it’s well known she resented fiercely the favoritism shown to Charles.
This is all so bizarre and outmoded. Abolish the monarchy.
Charlotte will be dealing with the misogyny of the system as well as the media itself.
Some derangers blame Harry leaving on Diana treating him and William as equals and they believe that Harry shouldn’t have any expectations of being treated equally because he was the spare. So how is George and Charlotte being treated as equals going to change things?
So, there won’t be any sibling rivalry because Charlotte is a girl? I don’t think that’s how it works.
Right? It’s a pretty out-dated statement.
Certainly not how it worked with my brother & me!
Someone give Charlotte and Louis copies of Spare now – they will get it. Actually, from people who have met Anne, I gather she is intelligent, and displays great interest, asking pertinent questions, on a number of complex academic topics. Just as I feel Harry is actually far brighter and more insightful than William, her intelligence was down-played by the Press, and just as Louis’ will be.
I do not believe for one minute that every single one of the Leftovers didn’t read Spare the moment it was released.
‘For the first time in British history, the spare is a princess,” when Edward VI was king the spares were his half siblings Mary and Elizabeth.