Real reason Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte won’t be the ‘spares’ like Prince Harry

A parenting expert has revealed why Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte won’t follow in their uncle’s footsteps and be ‘Spares’ when it comes to their big brother George

Prince Harry has spoken a great deal about his perceived role as the ‘Spare’ in relation to the royal line of succession.

In fact, he went so far as to title his tell-all memoir as such, and claimed in the book that his father King Charles commented to Princess Diana at Harry’s birth: “Wonderful! Now you’ve given me an heir and a spare – my work is done.” Harry has also spoken about his fears for William and Kate’s youngest children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who will fall behind their older brother, future king George, telling Substack : “I know that out of those three children, at least one will end up like me, the spare. And that hurts, it worries me.”

Not so, according to global parenting expert Jo Frost , who told HELLO! exactly why Charlotte and Louis would never be the ‘heir and spare’ to their big brother. “I think William and Catherine understand the importance of nurturing the sibling relationships between the three of them,” Jo said.

“Dare I say it, in their family it would never be the ‘heir and spare’. It would be about the importance of all of them. The understanding that it really takes a team, with the important roles in upholding the crown and the monarchy. And so, we’re seeing these very early seeds now, with respect to what it means to support each other and to nurture together.”

According to former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond, William and Kate are already striving to normalise their younger children’s lives with the hope they never feel that working as royals is their only option. “William and Kate must be acutely aware of the problems for a royal spare,” Jennie told OK. “They have already shown that they have a different and modern attitude to bringing up royal children and I’m sure they will do everything to make Charlotte and Louis feel every bit as special, loved and valued as George.

“I imagine they will encourage Louis to explore life outside the royal fold… it could be the military, but it could also be working in the charity world or whatever he finds appealing after his education is finished. I’m sure they will encourage him to go to University, which they both enjoyed and where, of course, they found love.

“And from there they will want him to find a life that is meaningful to him as well as appropriate for the son of a future King . They will try to ensure that he feels he is living a life of value, irrespective of his place in the line of succession and that will probably involve service of some kind as they have emphasised from the start that they want their children to understand that having empathy with others is not only a kindness, but is rewarding as well.”