Royal Family to 'rethink' future of patronages says Junor

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Royal biographer Penny Junor explained that the recent loss of Prince Harry’s and Meghan Markle’s patronages will give the Royal Family an opportunity to change the way they support charities. Speaking to Express.co.uk, she suggested royals could instead “dip their toes” more into multiple charitable events and lend their support on an ad-hoc basis. Ms Junor added the reduced number of “working royals” means that it would be difficult for members to fully commit to more allocated patronages left behind by Harry and Meghan. 

The royal expert said: “The problem is that once upon a time, there was a very large family who was all working for the family firm.

“That has been narrowed down and narrowed down quite purposely. 

“And the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the final event was the Queen standing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with what she thought at the time were the future of the Royal Family. 

“So, there was her, the Duke of Edinburgh unhappily was in the hospital.

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“But there was Charles and Camilla, William and Kate, and Harry, who at that point had no wife. 

“But fundamentally the working members were narrowed down and they were going to have to find new ways of working with charities anyway. “

She continued: “Because that number of people cannot we spread over so many thousands of charities.

“And they were looking at new ways of maybe dipping in and out of a charity, not becoming a patron but just lending their name and support for particular fundraising events.

Prince Harry losing patronages was 'always coming' says expert

“And that worked particularly well with Harry and William for instance.

“With them supporting Walking with the Wounded, Help for Heroes. 

“There were several charities that they didn’t actually become a patron of, but they raised a huge amount of money for. 

“So I think that in the future there will perhaps be a bit of a rethink about all of these patronages.”

News of Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey was confirmed in mid-February, with the royal couple losing their patronages given to them by Buckingham Palace soon after. 

While the interview was recorded before the public announcement, some royal commentators say the decision to give up the patronages was made far in advance by Harry and Meghan.

The pair were due to have their status reviewed at the end of March when their 12-month review period was over. 

While the Queen and Prince Philip are patrons of hundreds of charities, other Royal Family members are given a handful of patronages which tend to be distributed on interests. 

This decision allows each member to manage their roles with the charities effectively. 

Prince Harry and Meghan are, however, allowed to keep privately held patronages not given to them by the Queen. 

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