Prince William at Royal Ascot last week(Image: Wiktor Szymanowicz/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)
Prince William is already believed to be considering major decisions about how he will transform and modernise the monarchy when he becomes King, including which members of the Firm will be given key positions.
While numerous senior working royals are anticipated to scale back their royal engagements in the years ahead as they age, William is reportedly already identifying who would suit particular royal responsibilities.
And according to one insider, who maintains close ties with William and the wider Royal Family, he has already chosen one royal to assume a role he had “never felt comfortable with” when he takes the throne.
Prince William at Royal Ascot(Image: WireImage)
A well-placed royal source disclosed that one duty William is eager to pass on when he becomes King is the racing responsibilities, and could transfer them to his cousin Zara Tindall. William doesn’t share the same passion for horse racing held by King Charles and Queen Camilla, with the family’s enthusiasm for horses and racing dating back to the late Queen Elizabeth.
Zara, a former Olympic equestrian like her mother Princess Anne, may pick up the mantle of the royal racing calendar, given that it is a role Prince William has “never felt comfortable with”. The royal source previously told The Times: “I never get the feeling the whole top hat and racing is really his thing, and he’s said as much. He’s never really seemed comfortable doing it.”
William with his cousin Zara Tindall(Image: WireImage)
William reportedly wants to hand racing duties to his cousin(Image: Getty Images)
A source close to William revealed that “he understands how important Ascot is, not just to the racing community but to UK plc”, yet he is unlikely to be as involved with Royal Ascot and the royal stud at Sandringham as previous monarchs have been.
Despite not being a particularly keen racing enthusiast, William attended the second day of Royal Ascot last week, making the carriage procession alongside the Princess of Wales, who was returning to the annual racing event for the first time since 2023.
William also took to horseback during Trooping the Colour, paying tribute to his father on the occasion of his official birthday celebrations. While Zara is widely tipped to take on a more significant royal role when William eventually becomes King, other non-working members of the Royal Family are also said to have been put forward for more senior positions upon his accession to the throne.
