By Katherine Tinsley
3:10pm PST, Dec 11, 2025
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Prince William has been transparent about his hopes to shift the monarchy, but his agenda could cause irreparable damage to the Crown.
"If William V were to be ruthlessly rigorous and practical, stripping away too much of the ceremony, tradition and pageant, he might find himself left with an institution which was less than the sum of its parts," former House of Commons clerk
Eliot Wilson told
The i Paper. "In a modern society, the monarchy is valuable and justifiable by what it does, not by abstract theory. It has survived because, broadly, it works."
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"It is not logical or accountable; not all of the arrangements which govern us are," Eliot Wilson continued. "We take it as it is, part-constitution, part-theater, and its elements cannot easily be disaggregated."
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Prince William and
Kate Middleton's future changes could irk many people.
"If William, as King, strips away too much, removes the display and performance, in ruthless pursuit of efficiency and modernity, he risks being left with bare bones that have no value," Eliot Wilson said.
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"Try to make the Crown something it can never be, and King William could be the last one to wear it," Eliot Wilson continued.
