Can Royals Opt Out Of The Royal Family So They Could Live Normal Lives?

Being a member of the British royal family is not easy. Protocols govern almost every aspect of their lives, and privacy is something that they seldom enjoy. That is why in the history of the royal family, several family members have already gotten rid of their titles so they could live normal lives.

When Mark Phillips married Princess Anne, he refused Queen Elizabeth’s offer to give their children royal titles. As a result, Peter and Zara Phillips were able to live like normal people, away from the royal limelight. Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie Wessex, chose to give their children normal lives, too. Their children, James and Louise, could have been called Prince James and Princess Louise, but their parents chose for them the titles Viscount Severn and Lady Louise Windsor instead so they would not be considered royals.

Princess Patricia of Connaught, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, is one of the most popular royal family dropouts. Tired of her life as a royal, she married Commander the Hon. Alexander Ramsay, a son of an earl, in 1919; renounced all her royal privileges; and ditched her royal title so she could be Lady Patricia Ramsay. After their wedding, she was able to enjoy her life as a private citizen.

While one cannot really leave the royal family because they are blood relatives, one can refuse royal titles or withdraw from royal duties to get a regular job and live like a regular human. The only members of the royal family who cannot simply opt out of their royal duties are the monarch, the heir and the spare. In the case of the current British monarchy, those are Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Prince William. Apart from them, everyone else in the royal family is superfluous.

Previously, Prince Charles revealed his plan to reduce the number of royal family members supported by the taxpayers in Britain. He felt that royal duties must be carried out by just a small number of royals, including him; his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles; his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry; his sons’ wives, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle; and Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. If that happens, then the rest of the royal family must get regular jobs to support their needs.