Prince William, Prince George, Prince Louis, Kate Middleton and Princess Charlotte balcony of Buckingham Palace during the military procession to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day on May 5, 2025 in London.Credit : Chris Jackson/Getty

NEED TO KNOW

Prince William is focused on preparing Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis for a different destiny than Prince George
Tina Brown claims William is mindful of the challenges of primogeniture and wants to avoid past sibling struggles
The Prince and Princess of Wales aim to make royal life approachable for their children while shielding them from pitfalls

Prince William is said to be focused on the future of his children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — and mindful of the royal destinies that separate them.

Princess Diana’s biographer and former Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Tina Brown makes the claim in the latest edition of her Substack, Fresh Hell.

“I am told that the heir to the throne, Prince William, is preoccupied with the built-in risk of primogeniture’s cruelty,” Brown wrote in the newsletter published on March 24.

“He is determined that his second- and third-born children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, are well-prepared and well-financed for independent lives and will not fall into the same cycle of thwarted freedom,” alleged the author of The Diana Chronicles.

Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte, Prince William and Prince George at Kate Middleton’s “Together at Christmas” carol service on December 5, 2025.Karwai Tang/WireImage

Brown made the comment in a Substack questioning what’s next for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s commercial ventures. She also posed questions about their Australia trip in April, where they’ll mix entrepreneurial and charitable opportunities for the first time during such a trip abroad.

The Duke of Sussex, 41, was born the “spare” to Prince William, and he and his wife departed their royal roles in the U.K. in 2020. They moved to Meghan’s home state of California, dedicating their time to their charitable organization, Archewell Philanthropies, while pursuing media deals, and Prince Harry’s position as the spare to Prince William gave the name for his groundbreaking memoir, Spare, published in 2023.

“I was the shadow, the support, the Plan B. I was brought into the world in case something happened to Willy,” Harry alleged in the text.

Prince Harry, Prince Charles, Prince William and Princess Diana at Highgrove House in July 1986.Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

Though the brothers remain estranged amid a rift that became public when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from their royal roles six years ago, the different paths ahead for William’s children is something that he and Kate Middleton are mindful of.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are parents to Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, and George is second in line to the throne behind William.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are gradually introducing George to royal duties and even brought him along for his first formal function — a tea party with veterans — in May 2025, but they are determined to shield Charlotte and Louis from the pitfalls that have plagued the younger siblings of previous heirs.

Prince George, Prince William, Prince Louis, Kate Middleton and Princess Charlotte on Christmas at Sandringham, December 25, 2025.Samir Hussein/WireImage

Royal biographer Robert Hardman previously told PEOPLE that Prince William considers one of his most important duties as not just “preparing to be king himself but to make the whole royal existence approachable and not scary for all his children.”