Princess Diana's ‘impact' on Prince William makes him ‘lazy' royal

Royal commentator Gareth Russell has claimed Princess Diana's "impact" on son Prince William and Princess Kate is earning them a "lazy" reputation.

This comes as figures showed the couple carried out fewer public engagements this year than other senior royals.

Kate and William performed 172 and 123 outings respectively in 2023, compared to Princess Anne's 457 appearances. Russell explained to GB News that William prioritizes his family life just as his late mother Princess Diana did.

He said: "This is where you very much see that William is Diana's son.

He continued, "Recently there has almost been a perception that he is Charles's son and Harry is Diana's son. But you know Diana was immensely close with William. You can hear it when Prince William speaks about how there's so much love and admiration for his mother.”

"This is the Diana impact on the monarchy, so I don't imagine that William and Catherine are as wounded, as maybe other royals would have been by this level of press criticism," he added.

The expert noted the couple were expected to be leading figures for the monarchy following recent difficulties. But with less frequent public appearances, critics have an opportunity to paint them negatively.

He noted: "The danger for them is that even though this is almost certainly motivated by prioritising their home life, it has enabled their critics to paint them as lazy. That reputation can take quite a bit of time to shirk off at the moment.”

"Because of the difficulties the monarchy has had in the last few years, William and Catherine were very much expected to be the star players and to be the star attraction for positive publicity. If they're not seen as often, there is a risk that they enable their critics to write the story for them," he concluded.