Kate Middleton To Take On New Duties After Prince Harry Steps Down

Aug 05, 2021

When Kate Middleton married Prince William in April 2011, her life as a royal officially began. Shortly after their wedding, Kate began taking on more responsibilities and duties related to royal engagements. She has been a prominent advocate for mental health issues, and holds patronage with more than 20 charitable and military organizations. Attending her royal engagements and carrying out her duties has become second nature to the Duchess of Cambridge, and it looks like she is about to take on a few more.

After Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle officially left the royal family as working royals, others have been asked to step up and take over their previous responsibilities, as they were prominent working members of the family. Kate is reportedly set to take on the honorary roles as patron of the England Rugby Football Union and the Rugby Football League. The titles were previously held by the Duke of Sussex, but Harry has since stepped down and has been stripped of his duties following his departure from the royal family in March 2020.

Since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are technically no longer active members of the royal family, all of their responsibilities have been given back to Queen Elizabeth II and are set to be redistributed to other royal family members moving forward. As an avid sports lover and watcher, Kate has taken on a few titles regarding the topic, and is expected to take over Harry’s previous roles of royal patron of various rugby clubs and unions.

Kate’s Expected Future Roles

Back in February 2021, Harry was stripped of all royal duties and patronages by the Queen after he and Meghan confirmed that they were officially leaving the family as working royals, leaving their previous roles in need of filling. The Duke of Sussex had held the role of royal patron of the England Rugby Football Union (RFU) for five years. The Queen had previously held the title for 64 years prior to her grandson taking over for her, as per the Daily Mail. Harry had also been the royal patron of the Rugby Football League (RFL), a title that he held since July 2017.

The Daily Mail reported that the Duchess of Cambridge would be taking on the honorary roles as patron of RFU and the RFL, since Harry no longer holds the patronage. The Times reported that the new patronages are expected to be announced before the rugby league World Cup, which takes place in October and November. 

Kate is also currently serving as royal patron of the All England Lawn and Tennis Croquet Club, the Lawn Tennis Association, SportsAid and the 1851 Marine Trust, as per the Daily Mail. The latter group’s mission is to inspire and educate young people through the use of sports. The Duchess of Cambridge has shown great interest in sports throughout her life, as she has been playing tennis and hockey from a young age. According to the Daily Mail, Kate and the rest of the Middleton family used to be avid rugby watchers prior to her time in the royal family, and her interest in the sport has only continued to grow.

Redistributing Royal Responsibilities

Along with her budding interest in sports, Kate has also been busy with her charity work over her years in the royal family. The Daily Mail reported that Kate is expected to champion the RFU’s inner warrior campaign, a campaign that aims to recruit more female players into clubs. The campaign is currently in its fourth year, and has seen more than 20,000 women attend one of its warrior camps, leading to many women going on to join women’s touch and contact rugby teams, as per the Daily Mail.

Kate has shown promise in previous royal roles she’s held, and is expected to do well with the upcoming roles. After Harry and Meghan had announced their royal exit, Buckingham Palace released a statement explaining what that meant for the rest of the royal family. “Following conversations with the Duke, the Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of the Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service,” the statement said, as per the Daily Mail.

Further discussions are still in progress as the royal family works to figure out who will be taking over the remainder of the Sussex family’s responsibilities. The RFU thanked Harry for his “time and commitment,” as per the Daily Mail. “The RFU has greatly valued his contribution to promoting and supporting the game,” the RFU said.

Since leaving the royal family in March 2020, Harry and Meghan have gone on to earn their own money in the United States, as they now live in Montecito, Santa Barbara in California. They have since signed deals with Spotfiy and Netflix, as well as a $40 million book deal, according to the Daily Mail.

What do you think about the possibility of Kate Middleton becoming the honorary patron of the RFU and RFL? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your friends and family, too!