A New Report Warns That the Royal Family ‘Risks Abolishing Itself’ After a Dramatic Slump in Public Engagements

The royal family is scuttling about in preparation for King Charles III’s coronation, but a new report is warning that the palace should be focusing their efforts elsewhere. It seems that the lack of royal engagements, which has dropped dramatically in less than a decade, is becoming an issue with the citizens of the U.K.

Civitas, a British think tank focused on democracy and public policy, revealed in their findings that a 40 percent drop in royal engagements is leading to apathy from the country. “The Royal Family as we know it is on the brink of collapse and risks abolishing itself by stealth,” the report said, via the Express. The royal family has become “too distant” from the people that represent which the organization blames on “death, scandal, and resignation.” (The pandemic was likely an issue for 2020 and 2021 engagements.)

Civitas is firing a warning shot telling King Charles in the report that the monarchy could “collapse” and “disappear from public view” if they don’t make some changes behind the scenes. One of the recommendations is adding more “working royals” to the roster to meet the demand. Charles, Princess Anne, and Prince Edward are cited as “doing almost half the work” in the royal family. “We now need new working royals or will have to accept a Royal Family that is more distant from the people than at any time in the past 100 years,” wrote Frank Young in the Civitas report.

Young believes the Charles’ plan of a “slimmed-down” monarchy is a poor choice. The King’s ambition might be misplaced and potentially misjudges the true public mood,” he wrote. He stresses that the younger royals, including Prince William and Kate Middleton, need to start picking up the slack since the burden has been primarily placed on family members who are over the age of 70. This might be one of the biggest challenges Charles faces after his coronation — keeping the monarchy relevant and thriving.

Before you go, click here to see the 100 best photos of the royal family from the past 20 years.

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