Prince William and Princess Catherine aren’t yet king and queen, and may not be for many years to come, but there is no doubt that they would have already started thinking about what they want the monarchy to look like under their reign. While The Prince and Princess of Wales have a deep respect for tradition, it is believed that they will also spend time modernising the monarchy when the time comes.

This may mean they make some major changes. Although they are more than capable of making these decisions by themselves, one royal author believes there is one key figure in their lives who will influence their choices.

That person is not a member of the Royal Family, but is instead Princess Catherine’s mother, Carole Middleton. In her book Catherine and Diana, author Ingrid Seward said she believes Carole’s upbringing could inspire the royal couple to stop running the vast portfolio of royal properties year-round.

This is because Carole grew up watching her parents work hard for every penny they earned. This may result in Carole encouraging the couple to keep the monarchy “modest.”

Seward wrote in her book: “[Will they] stay small in Forest Lodge, or go the whole hog and decide to keep Sandringham, Balmoral, and all the other smaller houses light and warm and staffed through the long winter nights? The voice of Catherine, whose mother was brought up in a council flat, in William’s ear might suggest that keeping things relatively modest is in tune with the times.”

As reported by Woman and Home, Ingrid thinks Catherine’s relatively ordinary upbringing gives her an “immense, not to say unique, value as a queen consort”, compared to someone who had always been brought up in a more prestigious environment.

While William and Catherine have not revealed much about their plans for when they are king and queen, the Prince of Wales has dropped some hints about what his reign could look like. This includes hints about change and how it is very much on his agenda.

Prince William opened up about this to actor Eugene Levy, the host of Apple TV+’s The Reluctant Traveler, last year while they discussed his future as king. William said: “I think it’s safe to say that change is on my agenda – change for good. And I embrace that and I enjoy that change – I don’t fear it.

“That’s the bit that excites me, is the idea of being able to bring some change. Not overly radical change, but changes that I think need to happen.”

He also said that he understands the importance of royal tradition and will carry this forward with him when he one day wears the crown. He told the actor: “I think it’s very important that tradition stays, and tradition has a huge part in all of this but there’s 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?’ So, I like to question things is what I’m really getting at.”

Prince William is very close with his wife’s family, and has been since his early dating days with Catherine.

Both Catherine’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, spend a lot of time with their daughter and son-in-law, as well as their three royal grandchildren, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.