Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis can ‘help share some of the burden’ placed on their brother Prince George, claims royal expert

“They don’t want to feel invisible in his shadow"

Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis
(Image credit: GARETH CATTERMOLE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images and Karwai Tang/WireImage)

According to a royal expert, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis can ‘help share some of the burden’ placed on their brother Prince George in an effort that will both keep 'pressure' off of the future King and make sure his siblings don't 'feel invisible in his shadow.'


Following reports that Prince George is already having 'informal' chats with his grandfather King Charles about his future role as King, royal experts and fans alike are already imagining just what kind of monarch the royal youngster will be. 

But with the future of the monarchy set to be slightly different with King Charles plans to slim down its members and focus on a new picture of what royal life may be like, one royal expert is sure that George's younger siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who sit just behind him in the royal line of succession, will take a much more central role than siblings have done before. 

It's not hard to imagine the picture. Princess Charlotte has already proved she's ‘inherited’ her mum’s striking confidence and her strong bond with her brother could even mean a longstanding historic royal tradition is broken. For Prince Louis, both he and his sister know there is a difference between them and Prince George but that hasn't done anything to make George's childhood any different - in fact he's had a more normal childhood than any monarch before him

And all that bonding and important establishment of an equal family dynamic, according to royal expert Christopher Andersen, means that the future king knows he can rely on his sister, Princess Charlotte, and his brother, Prince Louis, when he needs them most. 

Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis

(Image credit: Getty)

Speaking to US Weekly, Christopher Andersen, who wrote the book The King: The Life of King Charles III, revealed, “They [the Palace] have to think about George’s feelings in relation to his siblings. George has all this pressure. He has these two siblings who can help him - who can ease some of the pressure and share some of the burden.

“By the same token, they [Charlotte and Louis] don’t want to feel sidelined. They don’t want to feel invisible in his shadow.” So, by calling up Charlotte and Louis to take on the important role of supporting the future monarch, not only does George know he has people who will unwaveringly be there for him but the younger siblings also feel valued and respected. 

According to Andersen, for the royal family, it's all about avoiding the mistakes of the past and heading into a more stable future. As he points out, The Firm 'does not want another kid writing a book, another edition of Spare' but they also don't want Charlotte or Louis to feel left out. Andersen added, "Obviously, Harry was very hurt by being in the shadow of his brother. I think they’re [the Palace are] aware of that.” 

Prince George, Kate Middleton, Prince Louis, Prince William and Princess Charlotte

(Image credit: Getty)

So while Prince Harry may be just one of many people who worry about the future dynamic between George and his siblings, currently the family seems to be doing ok. 

Anderson believes that the Wales siblings' relationship 'is much healthier than it normally would be in the royal family' because of William and Kate's relaxed and informal approach to parenting.

He said, “George has got loving parents and they dote on him and the kids. The pressures that were on William and Harry grew so much from the dynamics in their family life. The fact that Diana was so unhappy and Charles [was] in love with somebody else [was tough].”

We all know how strained William and Harry's relationship grew to be, with many of the issues stemming back to Harry's position as 'spare.' In his memoir of the same name, Harry wrote, “I was summoned to provide backup, distraction, diversion and, if necessary, a spare part. Kidney, perhaps. Blood transfusion. Speck of bone marrow. This was all made explicitly clear to me from the start of life’s journey and regularly reinforced after.”

News writer

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is a news writer for Goodtoknow, specialising in family content. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.