William and Kate are trying all they can to avoid their kids ending up like Harry
William and Kate are trying all they can to avoid their kids ending up like Harry
Charl WrightWed, August 5, 2026 at 8:18 AM UTC
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Prince William and Kate Middleton with Prince Harry before Megxit -Credit:Getty Images
Prince William and Kate Middleton are doing their best to ensure their kids don't end up like their uncle, Prince Harry, according to reports.
A royal author has shared that the Prince and Princess of Wales are thinking carefully about their two youngest children, Charlotte and Louis', potential roles as "spares."
Simon Vigar, author of The Four Wives of Windsor, believes the adoring parents will be looking for a way for the children to support George when he ascends the throne, thereby avoiding a Megxit part two. This comes as King Charles is reportedly furious at Prince William and Kate Middleton.
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Speaking to Hello Magazine, Simon said there "must be a way" for Charlotte and Louis to have effective roles as working royals so they would have a better dynamic with their older brother than William and Harry had.
"The Sussexes clearly believed, or Harry believed, that there could be a third way," the expert explained. "At the Sandringham Summit, he was told by Elizabeth, Charles and William, 'You're either in, or you're out.' At which point he said, 'Okay, we're out.' He saw the door, and he went for it."
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Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis may still 'have their own lives' while also supporting Prince George when he's king -Credit:WireImage
Continuing, Simon noted there "has to be a better way of doing this," so that Charlotte and Louis can remain supportive siblings while still "having their own lives."
"And I should think, I don't know this for sure, that Catherine and William are talking about it, but William keeps dropping these hints about change, doesn't he?" the acclaimed author added.
Interestingly, Prince Harry once claimed he wrote his memoir, Spare, to protect his younger niece and nephew. In an interview with Bryony Gordon, which was published on Substack, the Duke of Sussex revealed, "I know that out of those three children, at least one will end up like me, the spare. And that hurts; it worries me."
King Charles reportedly called Prince Harry a 'spare' upon his birth -Credit:Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
It was also reported that King Charles said to Princess Diana upon the birth of Harry, "Wonderful! Now you've given me an heir and a spare – my work is done."
Harry explicitly writes in Spare that the comment was "a joke. Presumably." However, he uses it to highlight how deeply the "heir and spare" dynamic was ingrained into his life from the very beginning.
However, while the quote may sound exceptionally harsh, royal historians have crucially pointed out that "an heir and a spare" is a traditional, centuries-old idiom commonly used by the British aristocracy. It referred to the practical necessity of having a second child to secure the family lineage and title in case the firstborn died.
The Royal Family has never addressed whether the King said this, and has notoriously maintained its silence on all of Prince Harry's claims in his memoir.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
