Prince William has made no secret of his desire to modernise the monarchy and adapt to the times. But there is one tradition in particular that the Prince of Wales could abolish when he succeeds the throne from his father King Charles.
HELLO!'s A Right Royal Podcast hosts Andrea Caamano, Emmy Griffiths, and Emily Nash touched upon the royal's thoughts about Garter Day in an episode of the podcast alongside special guest, The Telegraph's Hannah Furness.
During the episode, the group looked back at some of the biggest royal events from the summer of 2025, and discussed how one traditional ceremony in particular could be axed one day – especially when Prince William becomes King of England.
Garter Day is a tradition that originates from almost 700 years ago, established by King Edward III in 1348. The Order of the Garter is the oldest Order of Chivalry in Britain and includes the King, who is Sovereign of the Garter, the Queen, several members of the Royal Family, as well as up to 24 Companions.
However, the podcast chat discussed whether William will continue the tradition when he eventually takes over. Emily explained at the time: "They wear these incredible velvet and ermine robes and feathered caps. There's quite a lot of pomp and pageantry… It's quite a jolly day out!"
Speaking about William's thoughts on the tradition, Emily continued: "I would say [William] is less comfortable with that degree of pomp and pageantry."
Hannah added: "I think by instinct he is very savvy about what the monarchy is going to look like in the modern world and probably views things like these very traditional ceremonies through the lens of, 'What does his generation think about it, what do the next generation think about it?'"
© Getty ImagesShe continued: "But he is also a member of the Royal Family and if you believe in the monarchy, these things are the heart of the monarchy." Listen or watch the whole chat above!
Prince William's modern style
The Prince of Wales has made no secret of his desire for the monarchy to adapt. In a 2025 episode of Apple TV's The Reluctant Traveler, William revealed to Eugene Levy: "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," the future King added.
© Getty ImagesClarifying that he's not planning "overly radical change," the future monarch revealed that there are some traditions, which have had "a huge part in all of this," stay in place.
He explained: "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." It's something he'd admittedly like to do more of.
