Prince William Won’t Inherit the Commonwealth Just Because He Inherits the Crown After King Charles

The Commonwealth has just wrapped up one of its most consequential summits in years, so naturally parts of the British royal press have found a way to make it about Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.

The 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, or CHOGM, brought representatives from 56 independent countries to Antigua and Barbuda from 1 to 4 November. Leaders discussed trade, climate resilience, youth employment and investment. More than $500 million in partnerships and commitments were announced, and a new Commonwealth Trade Portal was launched to make it easier for businesses across member states to trade with one another.

Britain also agreed to structured discussions with countries affected by its role in the transatlantic slave trade, including talks that could shape a future formal apology. Yet the UK government continues to rule out financial reparations, an increasingly difficult position to defend while acknowledging the lasting economic and social damage created by slavery and colonialism.

But rather than discuss that, Richard Eden’s contribution to the post-CHOGM conversation was a Daily Mail column highlighting a Private Eye claim that Harry and Meghan were supposedly “being whispered about” in Antigua as possible future Heads of the Commonwealth.

Private Eye magazine claims that Prince William has shown little interest in following his father and that the talk at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in the Caribbean was of his brother and sister-in-law stepping in to the breach. ‘Among those being whispered about in Antigua to succeed [the King] are H and/or M,’ it reports. ‘H & M gained a lot of support across sections of the Commonwealth after Meghan accused the royals of racism five years ago.’ The couple were stripped of their roles as president and vice-president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust in 2021 after they quit royal duties in 2020.

— Eden wrote in the Daily Mail, citing Private Eye

There is no official announcement, no identified Commonwealth leader publicly campaigning for them and no evidence that either Harry or Meghan has expressed any interest in the position. The report remains gossip. But the reaction to it is far more interesting than the rumour itself.

The Commonwealth Is Not William’s Inheritance

For all the mythology surrounding the monarchy and Commonwealth, the Head of the Commonwealth is not a hereditary position.

King Charles did not automatically inherit the role when he became king. Queen Elizabeth II made clear that she wanted him to succeed her, and Commonwealth leaders agreed at CHOGM in 2018. The decision was theirs to make. The same will apply when Charles eventually leaves the role. That means Prince William has no automatic claim.

I have many criticisms of Charles, too many to count even with a calculator. But it was hardly surprising that Commonwealth leaders accepted him. Charles had put in the work.

Before becoming king, he attended six CHOGMs and spent decades cultivating relationships across the organisation. According to the Royal Family, he made more than 122 official visits to 44 Commonwealth countries before and after becoming monarch. Queen Elizabeth went even further, making more than 200 visits to Commonwealth countries during her reign.

William’s record looks very different. He participated in CHOGM when Britain hosted the summit in London in 2018, but did not attend Rwanda in 2022, Samoa in 2024 or Antigua and Barbuda in 2026.

After his disastrous 2022 Caribbean tour, William himself acknowledged that the next Head of the Commonwealth would be for member countries to decide.

So perhaps we should take him at his word. Elizabeth and Charles spent decades maintaining those relationships. William has not shown the same level of engagement.

You cannot treat Commonwealth diplomacy as optional and then assume becoming king automatically makes you the natural choice to represent 56 sovereign nations. Especially when the job was never yours to inherit.

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Charles Has Just Demonstrated How Complicated the Job Has Become

Charles attended CHOGM as Head of the Commonwealth after a Caribbean tour that placed Britain’s colonial history squarely in front of him.

At the summit, he described the transatlantic slave trade as a shameful chapter that filled him with horror and profound personal sorrow. He still stopped short of making a formal apology.

Meanwhile, reparatory justice is no longer a subject Commonwealth leaders can politely push to the margins. Caribbean governments want Britain to confront the economic and social consequences of slavery and colonialism. Climate-vulnerable states want financing. Developing economies want trade and investment on fairer terms.

This is the environment the next Head of the Commonwealth would inherit. It is not just waving at Commonwealth Day and attending receptions.

And frankly, if Harry or Meghan were ever seriously approached, I am not convinced they would want to throw themselves back into that political and historical quagmire.

They spent years extricating themselves from the restrictions of royal life. If either wanted a more formal international role again, independent philanthropy, Invictus, an NGO or some form of international goodwill work would surely offer considerably more freedom than attaching themselves to an institution still working through Britain’s colonial legacy.

But the Sussex Rumour Is Still Hilarious

That does not mean the speculation is not funny. Harry and Meghan were once given prominent Commonwealth roles. Harry became a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador and President of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, while Meghan served as the Trust’s Vice-President. Those official associations ended after they stopped being working royals.

So there is something almost Shakespearean about seeing the couple endlessly described as irrelevant private citizens suddenly mentioned, however speculatively, in connection with a position the future king has shown little enthusiasm for pursuing.

Imagine the outrage. After years of being told that Harry and Meghan are finished, unpopular and completely unnecessary to royal life, we are now being invited to contemplate the possibility of 56 sovereign countries choosing one of them for an international position that William does not automatically control. No wonder it makes such irresistible rage bait for Richard Eden to play with.

Also, to be clear, if Commonwealth leaders ever selected Harry or Meghan, that decision would not, by itself, make either of them a working royal again. The Head of the Commonwealth is a Commonwealth position, not an appointment within the British Royal Household.

The organisation is actually coordinated day to day through the Commonwealth Secretariat, currently led by Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey, who is responsible for representing the organisation, protecting its values and managing its work.

The idea that William could simply order a future Head of the Commonwealth around because he happened to be king misunderstands the organisation completely.

Maybe the Next Head Should Not Be Royal at All

And perhaps that is the real story emerging from Antigua. The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent and equal countries representing 2.7 billion people. Some newer members, including Mozambique, Rwanda, Gabon and Togo, were never part of the British Empire.

So why should its symbolic leadership remain tied to the House of Windsor? The modern Commonwealth grew out of the British Empire, and if it is serious about being a partnership of sovereign equals, then perhaps it is time to move beyond the last traces of colonialism 2.0.

After a CHOGM shaped not only by trade and investment but by the unresolved legacy of slavery and empire, choosing future leadership on merit rather than royal blood would send a powerful message.

The funniest part of the Harry and Meghan speculation is that royal commentators are obsessing over which Windsor might get the job next. The Commonwealth can choose none of them. Maybe that is exactly the point.