Prince William Is Reportedly Running The Royal Family With A Business-Savvy Mindset

Call him the chief of royal operations, if you will, because William, Prince of Wales, is reportedly set to completely overhaul the way things are run behind the scenes at Buckingham Palace. For those curious about what will happen when William becomes king, well, the answer is that he's planning on running the royal family more like a business and less like an ancient institution.

Journalist Dan Wakeford told Fox News that, while many have criticized William for not undertaking as many public engagements as other senior royals like Princess Anne, he has been working quite hard, just not in a way that everyone can immediately see. "I think William is working more like a CEO and being very strategic with his time," Wakeford surmised. "He studies the monarchy in a way to help make it survive and keeps a boundary around his real life and his relationships so that he doesn't get burned out, and he can do the best job possible." Just like a true businessman. Royal author Christopher Andersen told the outlet that he agrees with William's business-savvy approach. "The royal family is worth billions, including extensive prime real estate holdings. To say it should be taken seriously as a business enterprise is a colossal understatement," he told the outlet.

In true CEO fashion, William is reportedly willing to make some ruthless cuts when he ascends the throne, especially pertaining to some of the non-working royal family members who have practically been living in royal housing rent-free for years. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor even sublet some parts of the Royal Lodge while he lived there, while reportedly never paying a dime himself. Per reporting by The Times, William plans to put a firm stop to this freeloading because he understands how bad it looks to the tax-paying public.

Those who think that age-old royal traditions will hinder Prince William's plans to change the monarchy would be woefully wrong. The prince has made it clear that he has no disdain for tradition, but that he also won't keep up with the ones that no longer serve a purpose in the modern world. "Tradition has a huge part of all this. But there are also points where you look at tradition and go, is that still fit for purpose today? Is that still the right thing to do? Are we still doing and having the most impact we could be having?" he told Eugene Levy during a 2025 interview for "The Reluctant Traveler," per the Independent. "I think if you're too intrinsically attached to the history, you can't possibly have any flexibility," he added.

William's life has changed significantly since he became the Prince of Wales, and he's even started to upend some of King Charles III's longstanding royal rules. Most notably, he's reportedly intent on being much more decisive when it comes to royal scandals (and their prevention), like the controversy that has surrounded his disgraced uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. "If William had been in charge, he would have cut the York family off sooner and more ruthlessly," historian and royal author Andrew Lownie told ABC News in 2026, adding that William has been putting pressure on the king to deal with the Andrew situation so he no longer has it on his royal to-do list when he becomes king.

In the meantime, royal author Catherine Mayer told People that William and his wife, Princess Catherine's future as king and queen is vital to the monarchy's survival. "William and Catherine carry the whole thing," she asserted. "There is no institution without them."