As King Charles’ slimmed-down monarchy comes under strain, could the Firm rely on the younger generation of British royals you’ve probably never heard of?

There’s growing fears amongst royal fans and experts alike that King Charles’ idea of a slimmed-down monarchy could doom the Crown to irrelevance.

The King has largely postponed his public-facing duties – although he did greet delighted well-wishers following the annual Easter service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Kate has not resumed her royal duties since her abdominal surgery in January. Post-operative tests found that cancer had been present and Kate has now begun a course of preventative chemotherapy.

It means with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the US, and Prince Andrew in the cold, there is only five senior royals to call on: Queen Camilla, Prince William, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and the Duchess of Edinburgh.

It’s a stark difference to previous years, when at one time the British Royal Family was made up of 18 working royals who could be called on to help with engagements.

Now, just nine members of the Firm are relied upon, including The Duke, 79, and Duchess of Gloucester, 77.

Minor royals that have helped out in previous years include Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, the daughters of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.

But with the Duke of York exiled from public duties, and both Princesses busy with their young families and jobs – Beatrice at Afiniti and Eugenie at the art gallery Hauser and Wirth – it’s unlikely there will be a repeat.

Despite calls for the King to bring the siblings further into the fold this year, their father Prince Andrew’s scandals would no doubt give Charles pause.

So, could a new set of younger, hardly-known royals be called upon to help with public engagements instead?

Action man Arthur Chatto makes his living as a member of the Royal Marines, the first royal to join the regiment. He is 30th in line to the throne.

After attending Westminster Cathedral Choir school, Arthur followed in the footsteps of Princes Harry and William footsteps by attending Eton College.

At Eton, he was in its Combined Cadet Force, which teaches pupils a range of military skills. Afterwards, he followed his older brother Sam to Edinburgh University.

Arthur, who studied History of Art, juggled his studies with working as a personal trainer at the BoundFitness gym in the city.

In a profile of the young royal shared on Instagram, Arthur wrote: ‘I’m a level 3 personal trainer, I specialise in strength and endurance training with a military focus.’

Princess Margaret’s grandson is also said to be a fan of outdoor sports, including mountain climbing. The adventurous royal has even been ice diving in Greenland and climbing in the Alps.

Arthur, who is a keen environmentalist like Prince William and Harry, was also part of a four-man squad that completed an epic row around the UK to raise money for The British Red Cross and Just One Ocean in 2020.

Speaking about the 2,000-mile GB Row Challenge which took 38 days, Arthur said that preparing for the challenge had been ‘mental’ and very physically demanding.

Preparation did not come easy, as he reportedly went on 20-mile hikes and camped in the Scottish Highlands in preparation for his uniformed role.

Arthur has also made royal history, as in 2021, he became the first member to join the Marines. The late Queen was said to be ‘pleased and proud’ of her great-nephew’s achievements.

Since then, he has attracted attention as a royal heartthrob, as he sported his Marines uniform for the Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen at St Paul’s Cathedral in 2022.

Arthur racked up followers on his now-deleted Instagram account after he would often post revealing snaps, including one topless photo taken during a ‘Scottish swim’ alongside older brother Samuel during his university Freshers week.

Although there is no official Instagram account, it has not stopped Arthur’s pictures from popping up, as adoring fans have kept his online presence alive by creating fan pages where they share photos and videos of the royal.

The royal seems to have enjoyed watching the The Crown, as he admitted to The Telegraph.

Arthur said: ‘Yes, I have watched it, I guess it’s only an interpretation. So I just kind of remember what they’re actually like and don’t let the TV persona mar my judgment of any of them.’

SAMUEL CHATTO
A free spirit who has inherited the family’s artistic talents, Samuel Chatto, is the son of Lady Sarah and Daniel Chatto and the eldest of Princess Margaret’s grandchildren.

Samuel David Benedict Chatto, better known as Sam, 27, was born on July 28, 1996, at Portland Hospital in London.

He was brought up in Kensington, London, and was sent to Eton College when he was 11 years old – like many other members of the royal family, including his brother Arthur and Princes William and Harry.

The now 27-year-old then went on to study History of Art at the University of Edinburgh and graduated in 2018.

Following the completion of his degree, the royal undertook a six-week apprenticeship at North Shore Pottery in Scotland and is now carving a career for himself as a potter.

Explaining that he had put aside his creative ventures while studying, he set up his own ceramics studio in 2019.

Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2019, he said: ‘I’m working in clay to create functional and sculptural wood-fired ceramics from my home and studio in West Sussex.

‘I’ve always had a strong affinity with creating objects, having spent much of my childhood crafting imagined landscapes and sculptural models, which naturally led me to clay during my later years at school.

‘My creative practice took a back seat while I studied History of Art at Edinburgh, but was revived, in the summer of 2017, by a visit to North Shore Pottery [in Caithness].

‘Inspired by what I had seen in Scotland, and completely uninspired by my three-month job in the commercial art market, I spent my weekends setting up a small home studio to rediscover my creativity and built a wood-fired kiln at the bottom of my garden.

‘The decision to start selling my work comes from a strong belief in the power of beautiful, well-made objects to enrich and enhance our lives.’

Aside from his career as a potter, Sam has also explored other options and previously trained as a yoga instructor in India with his then-girlfriend, Sophie Pipe.

In a 2019 Instagram post, the great-nephew of the late Queen Elizabeth revealed that he completed six weeks’ worth of training hours in India.

‘It was an incredibly eye-opening experience which I am so deeply grateful for,’ he wrote at the time.

Devoting himself to ‘feeding his soul’ and following a vegan diet, he was previously in the habit of sharing motivational posts on Instagram.

This included a post where he was pictured in the foothills of the Himalayas and at the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, where he donned a traditional Arabic keffiyeh, stood next to a police officer and gushed: ‘My life is complete.’

Over the years, the royal has shared his journey through life on his social media accounts.

While senior and more prominent members of the royal family often only have official social media pages, Sam is allowed to have his own personal page because of his lower standing in the hierarchy of succession.

As the son of Lady Sarah Chatto, who is the only daughter of the late Countess of Snowdon, Princess Margaret, Sam currently sits as 29th in line to the British throne.

LADY AMELIA WINDSOR

Lady Amelia Windsor has modelled for Dolce & Gabbana, is currently signed to the Storm fashion agency and still has time to discuss her environmental passions with her followers on Instagram.

She is the granddaughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, making her 43rd-in-line to the throne.

Lady Amelia was educated at exclusive St Mary’s, Ascot, where boarders pay more than £45,000 a year, and seems to boast brains as well as looks (Tatler once described her as ‘the most beautiful royal’).

She took a year out of education to travel in India and Thailand before studying Italian at the University of Edinburgh.

Since graduating Amelia has pursued a mixed career of modelling, fashion design and writing for publications including Tatler. She has appeared on the magazine’s cover.

Lady Amelia is a big fan of social media and regularly shares glimpses of her glamorous life with her followers.

Talking about her enthusiasm for social media – and particularly Instagram, she says: ‘It allows anyone to be creative and imaginative.

‘I also love that we can share all the beautiful and meaningful things we see and hear in the world. I find it so inspiring and uplifting.’

Speaking to The Telegraph, Lady Amelia insisted that she’s not the type to wear an outfit once and discard it.

‘The clothes that I wear on Instagram are mostly for events, which have been borrowed from different brands,’ she explained.

Instead, the royal revealed she tries to live as eco-consciously as possible, and often shops for vintage in Portobello Market near her Notting Hill home.

As an advocate for sustainable fashion and renewing old pieces, Amelia has also sold her old clothes on the fashion marketplace app Depop to raise money for an animal charity back in 2021.

Taking to Instagram, the royal explained she put a selection of preloved clothes up for sale after a wardrobe clear out and how any money she made from the sale will go towards the animal protection charity Cross River Gorilla Project.