King Charles's slimmed-down monarchy could struggle as average age peaks at 69

Since ascending the throne, King Charles has continued his mission to streamline the monarchy, adapting the centuries-old institution to the contemporary era. His efforts are to ensure the efficiency and sustainability of the Royal Family amid fiscal realities and public opinions.

One of the most significant aspects of his efforts to slim down the Firm is the reduction in the number of working royals. This was notable as fewer members of the Royal Family appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony than in previous years to mark the King's official birthday parade - Trooping the Colour 2024.

King Charles, 75, Queen Camilla, 77, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children, the Duke of Duchess of Edinburgh and their daughter Lady Louise, stood in the main area of the balcony.

Whereas Princess Anne, 73, her husband Sir Timothy Laurence, and the Duke of Kent were further to the right. Other members of the firm included other royals such as the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

This is a major change from previous years where in 2019, the balcony was so full that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were barely visible behind the late Queen and the Princess Royal.

The average age of the working royals has now reached 69. Excluding the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the average age of the remaining eight working royals is an astonishing 77.

Reports suggest a slimmed-down Royal Family is yet to reduce in size even further. The Mirror reports a source close to Prince William confided in the Daily Mail's Diary Editor, Richard Eden: "When the older members of the family retire, His Royal Highness [Prince William] won't be inviting anyone else to become working royals."

Eden further fuelled the conversation, saying: "It remains to be seen if he will even want his two younger children to be working royals".

Princess Anne once told Canadian public broadcaster, CBC News, about her thoughts to modernise the monarchy. She said: "Well, I think the ‘slimmed down’ was said in a day when there were a few more people around. It doesn’t sound like a good idea from where I’m standing, I would say. I’m not quite sure what else we can do."

It comes during a year when King Charles and Princess Kate were both stepping back from front-facing royal duties because of their cancer diagnoses and focusing on recovery.

Because of this, wider members of the Royal Family have stepped in to partake in royal events, including the Duke and Duchess of York's daughters - Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

There has been debate among royal fans on whether the Princesses will become full-time working royals - for instance, Princess Beatrice stepped in for the future King and took part in the Earthshot Prize's Water Roundtable on Tuesday, June 25 while Prince William was welcoming the Japanese Emperor and Empress on their first day in the UK.

The King has expressed ambitions to streamline the monarchy, a desire he had revealed long before he ascended the throne from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. In 2021, the broadcaster Angela Levin said on TalkRadio that the then-Prince had been planning to "cut the monarchy down" for a considerable period.

Levin explained that the royal had desires to "save costs and to make people be worth the money that they get from the taxpayer"