Prince William was the 'driving force' behind modern change

A composite of a picture of Prince William in 2026 and a picture of Queen Elizabeth in 2021 — (Image credit: Photo by Aaron Chown-Pool/Getty Images // Photo by Andrew Milligan - Pool/Getty Images)

Prince William is said to have played a key part in modernising the monarchy’s approach to the royal line of succession, with royal author Russell Myers claiming that he "did not wish to take chances". Before the birth of Prince George, all royal women would be supplanted in the succession by younger brothers.

This is why Princess Anne is 18th in line, despite being Queen Elizabeth’s second child. There had been attempts to change things before and Myers suggests in William & Catherine that William "raised the issue" himself before he got married.

Prince William and Queen Elizabeth II watch a flypast of Spitfire &amp; Hurricane aircraft from the balcony of Buckingham Palace

According to a former senior courtier, "William was the driving force behind the change" even though he knew Queen Elizabeth "ultimately had no power" to alter it.

"But from those initial conversations it was made clear to her advisors that it was her sincere wish and that of her family for the government to lead the way for the Commonwealth countries to agree to the change," they added.

Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana both gave birth to boys first, which had taken the "urgency out of the issue" before then.

Yet with his mind on his future children with Kate, William is described as being a "man with a modern, or perhaps more realistic, view of the world".

Myers notes that the Prince of Wales "did not wish to take chances" and those "initial conversations" with Queen Elizabeth paid off.

Prince William, Prince of Wales during a tour of the Old Town in AlUla

The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 was officially given Royal Assent in April that year and came into effect in March 2013. Writing in William & Catherine, Russell Myers remarks that the Prince and Princess didn’t "feel the need" to make a statement or reference the ruling.

Instead, a royal source claims they "quietly celebrated the next stage of their vision to create a truly modern monarchy". When the couple’s first child was born a few months later in July 2013, they welcomed a boy and so the new act didn’t directly affect him.

However, this change Prince William apparently pushed for has benefited their daughter Princess Charlotte. The ten-year-old remains ahead of her younger brother Prince Louis in the succession.

Prince Louis of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales wave as they watch an RAF flypast

The Act retrospectively applies to any royal born after 28th October 2011, so unfortunately for Princess Anne, her place in the succession remains very low down.

Although Prince William is said to have been keen for the succession to reflect modern times ahead of the birth of his children, Myers writes that the "most important thing" for him and Kate has "always been [their] welfare" over any royal element.

Asked by Nicholas Witchell in a 2016 BBC interview about when he would prepare George and when he realised he was not from a normal family, William responded, "As far as we are concerned within our family unit, we are a normal family. I love my children in the same way as any father does, and I hope George loves me in the same way any son does to his father."

TOPICS

Emma is a Royal Editor with nine years of experience in publishing. She specialises in writing about the British Royal Family, covering everything from protocol to outfits. Alongside putting her extensive royal knowledge to good use, Emma knows all there is to know about the latest TV shows on the BBC, ITV and more. When she’s not writing about the latest royal outing or unmissable show to add to your to-watch list, Emma enjoys cooking, long walks and watching yet more crime dramas!

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.