King Charles ‘won’t progress with plans for slimmed-down monarchy’

King Charles III said he will not progress with plans for a slimmed-down monarchy and will keep the number of working royals at 11, sources claim.

His Majesty’s decision is more ‘conservative’ than critics and pundits have speculated after the monarch was expected to streamline the list of working royals. 

The 73-year-old King will also pay tax like his late mother, after in 1993 she ripped up George VI‘s tax break agreed by Neville Chamberlin. 

King Charles III said he will not progress with plans for a slimmed-down monarchy and will keep the number of working royals at 11

Sources told the Daily Express Kate and William will may have to increase their workload and take on new jobs

Close advisors believe with fewer generations of working royals the family will have to cut back on their 3,500 annual engagements (Pictured: Princess Anne (C), Princess Sophie, Countess of Wessex (2R) and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex)

The news comes after the Palace said it wanted a cut-down Coronation which will have fewer arcane rituals and be significantly shorter than the 1953 ceremony when Queen Elizabeth was crowned.

Data shows the former Prince of Wales paid £5.8million in income tax after receiving £23million from the Duchy of Cornwall estate in 2021. 

Close advisors believe with fewer generations of working royals the family will have to cut back on their 3,500 annual engagements. 

Aides are discussing what will happen to charities which attract thousands of pounds through royal representation and visits. 

One senior royal source told the Daily Express: ‘These are things that are all being looked at as part of a wider review at the moment.’

Sources told the paper Kate and William will may have to increase their workload and take on new jobs.  

But Kate has made it clear that she would prefer to look after her own children than expand the family’s portfolio. 

The departure of Harry and Megan and Prince Andrew has put more strains on the group’s ability to meet all of its commitments. 

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra watched a flypast to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018

Harry and Meghan (pictured) leaving has raised issues and Prince Andrew leaving made matters more tricky.

One senior royal source told the Daily Express: ‘These are things that are all being looked at as part of a wider review at the moment’

King Charles ‘is planning Royal Family’s biggest ever global tour to kick off his reign’: Monarch ‘will visit Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean in two-year blitz to shore up support for the Crown’ in echo of the Queen’s 1953 Commonwealth tourB

By Alistair Lockhart

King Charles III will set off on the Royal Family‘s biggest world tour in history to mark the start of his reign.  

The King will visit Australia, New Zealand and several Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean.

The monarch is reported to be planning various domestic and foreign trips by himself, leaving Queen Consort Camilla to attend to her personal projects at home.

A two year-long tour of the globe will introduce the new King to the world and ‘extend a hand of friendship and support’, according to royal sources.

King Charles could visit as many nations as Queen Elizabeth did in the 1970s, when she travelled to 52 Commonwealth countries and 21 others to mark her Silver Jubilee. 

Buckingham Palace is said to be considering trips to Australia and Canada ‘as soon as possible’. The King is also enthusiastic to visit at least a dozen other nations where he is the monarch. 

Charles, then Prince of Wales, takes part in traditional Mexican clog dancing in Campeche in November 2014

The royal couple attend a reception in the small Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis in 2019

Charles and Camilla arrive at Staubles Bay in Trinidad and Tobago as part of a royal tour of the Caribbean in March 2008

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visit Addis Ababa in Ethiopia in 1965. The Queen made hundreds of royal trips during her historic reign  

The King has toured dozens of Commonwealth countries over the years, including with Princess Diana in Australia in 1983

Diana, Princess of Wales and Charles stand in front of Ayers Rock, central Australia during their tour in 1983

William and Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, will take a more senior role in the new monarchy. Pictured: The couple in Jamaica earlier this year 

He has already visited 45 of the 56 Commonwealth countries while Prince of Wales – many on several occasions. 

The King is reported to be ‘acutely aware’ that many of the Caribbean countries will be contemplating becoming republics during his visits. 

Charles and Camilla could make their first state visit to South Africa as early as next month as preparations are made for their arrival.  

A royal insider said: ‘The King and his family are keen to hit the ground running in these crucial first few months and years of his reign,’ according to The Mirror.

‘He certainly wants to carry on the long-held mantra from his late mother of being seen to be believed, and is very keen to get out and meet as many people as possible.’ 

The Foreign Office is also said to be planning to send the royal couple to European nations such as France and Germany to help build relations in the post-Brexit era. 

The King and Queen Consort were originally planned to visit France next month, but this has been delayed until 2023. 

Government officials in New South Wales this week revealed plans for a ‘much-anticipated’ royal tour in 2024 to coincide with the 200th anniversary of democracy in Australia, although sources suggest Prince William and Kate had also previously discussed plans for a tour Down Under in spring 2023.

King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla will visit dozens of countries, both inside and outside the Commonwealth, over the next two years 

The royal couple pictured next to the Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt during their tour of the Middle East in 2021

Charles and Camilla take part in celebrations in the village of Artiya, India in 2006 on another royal visit 

The Prince and Princess of Wales are also said to be preparing to take on a greater support role as the Royal Family adjusts to life without the Queen.

William and Kate will visit the United States in the coming weeks to take part in the William’s Earthshot Prize environmental scheme.