Prince William and Kate Middleton face major decision and Carole could inspire them to 'downsize the grandeur' of Royal Family
When the Prince of Wales ascends the throne they could break with tradition and bring the monarchy 'in line with people's expectations'
The Prince and Princess of Wales are already making small moves to modernise the monarchy but when they become King and Queen Consort, this could be taken to another level. The couple will suddenly have the run of the vast royal property portfolio, including the iconic Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
However, royal author Ingrid Seward believes that Kate, perhaps inspired by her mother Carole's upbringing, could persuade her husband to tone things down.
"[Will they] stay small in Forest Lodge, or go the whole hog and decide to keep Sandringham, Balmoral and all the other smaller houses light and warm and staffed through the long winter nights?" she asks in Catherine & Diana. "The voice of Catherine, whose mother was brought up in a council flat, in William's ear might suggest that keeping things relatively modest is in tune with the times."
Carole Middleton has previously spoken about watching her father Ron, a builder, and mother Dorothy, who worked part-time in a jeweller shop, toiling "extremely hard" to "make ends meet and give [their children] a lifestyle". She believes she's passed that same work ethic to her kids and we can see that Kate, Pippa and James's upbringing was far more ordinary than William's.
The Prince and Princess of Wales currently already own Forest Lodge, Anmer Hall and Tam-Na-Ghar Cottage but keeping multiple official residences staffed is another matter and Ingrid thinks Kate's grounding gives her an "immense, not to say unique, value as a queen consort". Although the author believes his destiny as King is "drilled into his DNA", she adds his feet are on the pavement.
"All the signs point to William wishing to downsize the grandeur of the royal family - not to lose its tradition or its panoply of grandeur but to bring it in line with people's expectations," she claims.
Traditionally we'd expect the King and Queen to spend time at different residences throughout the year, like Sandringham at Christmas and Balmoral over the summer. I'd be surprised if they abandoned that completely but they might choose to actually stay at Anmer and Tam-Na-Ghar after hosting the family at the main homes.
Windsor Castle hasn't really been used as a residence since Queen Elizabeth's reign and they might still use it for audiences or meetings like they do now. Instead of staffing so many homes all year round, they could just be staffed as and when.
This would be seen as more economical and "in line" with modern expectations but Forest Lodge works so well as a base for them too. It's easy for them to travel from there to London and it's not far from the Middletons' home in Bucklebury.
The Princess of Wales's family are just as important to Kate and William as the royals - and the Prince recognised how close they were from the start.
"Kate's got a very, very close family. I get on really well with them and I'm very lucky that they've been so supportive," he said in the couple's engagement interview. "Mike and Carole have been really loving and caring and really fun and have been really welcoming towards me."
