Among members of the royal family, it is said to be Prince William, who is the Prince of Wales, who holds the strictest stance towards his disgraced uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
00:11, 17 Mar 2026Updated 07:07, 17 Mar 2026
Prince William is now reportedly ‘calling more of the shots'(Image: Getty Images)
Prince William is said to be “calling more of the shots” among the royal fold.
It is believed the Prince of Wales is increasingly taking the lead in decisions, including those around his shamed uncle Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was kicked out of the Royal Lodge this year.
Andrew, who denies any wrongdoing, saw this week his daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie banned from Royal Ascot. It is understood William, 43, played a part in this decision, which reportedly left the women “completely blindsided”.
Andrew Lownie, a royal expert, today said: “William, I think, is calling more of the shots now. So there’s definitely a change going on, and I get the sense also that there’s a bit of distancing even from the Sussexes, clearly from the Waleses.” Speaking on his podcast, The Lownie Report, the expert said he believes William is keen to see some real change in people’s attitude toward the monarchy.
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Prince William is said to have a strict stance towards his shamed uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor(Image: Getty Images)
Of the sisters, Beatrice has reportedly taken the decision to exclude them from Royal Ascot the hardest. The siblings have kept a low public profile since their father’s arrest, on February 19, at his home on the private Sandringham Estate.
Mr Lownie continued: “I think the decision to ban them from Ascot is interesting. The line that they’re [Beatrice and Eugenie] pushing is that they were never going to go to Ascot in the first place, and it does seem odd to be so public about this distancing.”
Both Beatrice and Eugenie retain princess and HRH titles, and it has emerged that both are allowed to rent homes in prestigious royal palaces. However, according to royal expert Jennie Bond, it could be time for Beatrice and Eugenie, neither of whom are working royals, to leave their royal titles behind in their private and working lives.
“I don’t think either of them has ever flaunted their titles, but there’s obviously a huge cachet in some circles about being called a Princess. A title like that opens doors and sets up connections, which both Beatrice and Eugenie have used to their advantage. There’s nothing wrong in that, but now that their father has been stripped of his titles and their mother can no longer use hers, they might like to quietly drop the use of theirs,” said Ms Bond, a former BBC royal correspondent.
In October last year, it was reported dad-of-three William was decisively “calling the shots” to protect King Charles from “criticism” over his reluctance to act against his disgraced brother. Andrew, though, has always denied any wrongdoing.