William and Kate's charity work keep royal kids from suffering 'spare syndrome'

Prince William and Princess Kate have a clever idea to help their royal children avoid what has been dubbed “spare syndrome”.

The Prince and Princess of Wales have dedicated much of their lives to their various charity work and philanthropic efforts with organisations such as Earthshot, the homelessness charity Centrepoint and the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood to name a few.

Now, royal expert Katie Nicholl believes that these initiatives could help both Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to avoid succumbing to “spare syndrome”; a pitfall suffered by Prince Harry and other royals who were always second in line to the throne. It comes after claims Prince Harry 'admits he is still part of the Royal Family and finally sees sense'.

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This problem has reportedly affected Prince Harry, Prince Andrew, and even Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth's late sister. It revolves around the concept of the "spare" Royal who feels "overlooked and purposeless".

But thanks to both William and Kate’s passion and outspokenness for their philanthropic efforts, Katie Nicholl believes these initiatives could give Charlotte and Louis a greater sense of purpose as they step into their royal roles when they get older.

Speaking on Kinsey Schofield’s Heirs and Spares podcast, Nicholl spoke of the recent developments in William’s "Innovative Housing Project" in the London borough of Lambeth, which will see a property in south London owned by William's Duchy of Cornwall estate will be converted into 16 flats to provide affordable homes for 18 to 25-year-olds.

Nicholl noted that the Prince of Wales has once said he wants to “eradicate homelessness in the UK” which she admitted was a “tall order” and would be a years-long plan.

Podcast host Schofield then quizzed: “I wonder if William and Kate are trying to set their children up with these larger initiatives to have something they can easily slide into, so we don’t have a Prince Andrew, so we don’t have a Prince Harry. There are so many powerful, creative campaigns happening that can live beyond their lifetime that I think their children can easily slide in to help find their purpose.”

Nicholl agreed, as she said: “Yes, and I think they will probably encourage their children to go and find their own philanthropic ventures that resonate with them, but William and Kate are giving them a template to follow in their footsteps.”

Noting William’s Earthshot campaign, Nicholl added that the Prince of Wales wants to “save the planet” but recognised “that is not something he can do on his own, but it can be continued by the next royal generation.”

“I think there is definitely that idea of continuing legacy work, so I think they are paving the way for the future, and he will want George, Charlotte and Louis to be passionate. But I think if there is a lifelong campaign, William will want his children to continue his footsteps.”

Nicholl’s comments come just days after royal commentator Richard Palmer suggested that the Waleses are keen to prevent any one child from receiving preferential treatment, thereby sidestepping the "spare" issue.

In an article for the I, he elaborated: "In a Royal Family traditionally focused on the need to create an heir to the throne, and then a spare just in case something goes wrong, the Waleses want their children to have emotional security instead of giving special treatment to the chosen one."