Marie Claire Marie Claire
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Nice Talk
  • Fashion Month
  • More
    • Politics
    • Career Money
    • Health Fitness
    • Power Play
    • Travel
    • Promo Codes
    • Food Cocktails
    • About Us
    • Subscribe
    • Sex Love
  • Newsletter SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Marie Claire
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    Want to add more newsletters?

    Marie Claire Daily

    Delivered daily

    Marie Claire Daily

    Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Sent weekly on Saturday

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Exclusive access to expert shopping and styling advice from Nikki Ogunnaike, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief.

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Once a week

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Insider tips and recommendations for skin, hair, makeup, nails and more from Hannah Baxter, Marie Claire's beauty director.

    Livingetc

    Once a week

    Livingetc

    Your shortcut to the now and the next in contemporary home decoration, from designing a fashion-forward kitchen to decoding color schemes, and the latest interiors trends.

    Homes amp; Gardens

    Delivered Daily

    Homes Gardens

    The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • TIFF's Best-Dressed
    • Low Ponytails
    • 'Ungrateful Immigrant Daughter'
    • Altuzarra
    • Caitlin Clark x Nike
    1. Celebrity
    2. Royals

    Prince William and Princess Kate Are "Determined to Break the Heir and Spare Cycle," Royal Expert Claims

    That can only be a good thing.

    Iris Goldsztajn#039;s avatar
    By Iris Goldsztajn
    Published 12 June 2023 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis
    (Image credit: Getty)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    According to Prince Harry writing in his shock memoir Spare, then-Prince Charles told Princess Diana after she gave birth to their youngest son, "Wonderful! Now you've given me an heir and a spare—my work is done."

    Though we will never know whether this exchange truly happened or not, it illustrates one certainty among the British Royal Family: Over the course of history, there was often a "spare" who was pitted against the heir to the throne, and who became rebellious as a way to create their own identity.

    This was the case with Princess Margaret, then with Prince Andrew, and now famously with Prince Harry. But for one royal expert, Prince William and Princess Kate are doing their utmost to not let this happen among their own children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

    Latest Videos FromMarie Claire
    Watch full video here:

    "William and Catherine are determined to break the heir and the spare cycle," Kinsey Schofield told the Daily Star.

    "I don't believe the word 'spare' has ever been uttered inside their home to describe one or more of their babies. It is just not on their radar. They wanted to have a large loving family."

    Instead, the Prince and Princess of Wales are preparing their children for royal life as best they can.

    "William and Catherine are teaching their children about royal responsibilities through doing them," Schofield continued.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    "You will notice how poised and prepared the children seem to be during large royal engagements. You can tell that Princess Charlotte takes great pride in her family and responsibilities. [It reminds] me of the Princess Royal."

    This preparedness was definitely visible on the kids' last public appearance during their grandfather's Coronation on May 6.

    Explore More
    Prince William
    Iris Goldsztajn
    Iris Goldsztajn
    Social Links Navigation
    Morning Editor

    Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.

    Latest in Royals
    A split image of Earl Spencer holding Swan Song and Princess Diana in her white Elvis dress and a tiara
    Royals Earl Spencer's New Diana Book Was Part of a "Suspicious" Theft
    Princess Kate and Princess Charlotte with their heads together at the Commonwealth Games
    Royals Princess Charlotte Had a Special Backstage Experience Orchestrated by Mom Kate
     
     
    Prince Harry looks at Prince William on the Buckingham Palace balcony as both wear military uniforms
    Royals Prince William's Stance on Prince Harry Has Changed to a "Cold War"
    Duchess Sophie wearing a lime green dress with a purple sash
    Royals Duchess Sophie Embraces Fall's Unexpected Color Clashing Trend
     
     
    Latest in News
    A split image of Earl Spencer holding Swan Song and Princess Diana in her white Elvis dress and a tiara
    Royals Earl Spencer's New Diana Book Was Part of a "Suspicious" Theft
    Dakota Johnson styled an everyday T-shirt dress from Toteme in New York for #039;Verity#039;
    Celebrity Style Dakota Johnson Just Found the Perfect T-Shirt Dress for Early Fall
     
     
    campaign photo of The Other September Issue for Substack, written by Gabriella Karefa-Johnson
    Fall fashion Gabriella Karefa-Johnson Wants Fashion to Take Note of the "Underappreciated"
    Princess Kate and Princess Charlotte with their heads together at the Commonwealth Games
    Royals Princess Charlotte Had a Special Backstage Experience Orchestrated by Mom Kate
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Marie Claire
    RSS
    • About us
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Advertise Online
    • Newsletter
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • Careers
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.