King Charles hasn't 'slimmed down' the monarchy like he said he would. Here are the 14 major players in the king's inner circle who keep the royal family running.

King Charles ascended the throne after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on September 8, 2022. He is due to be officially crowned at a coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London on May 6.

Charles, 74, has been a working member of the royal family for his entire life and is known for his work promoting sustainability, according to the royal website, as well as his work with The Prince's Trust, a charity he founded in 1976 to support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. His role as king involves representing the UK at local events and abroad, serving as a "focus for national identity, unity, and pride," according to the royal website.

As monarch, Charles is a symbol representing the British monarchy and everything it stands for. But he wouldn't be able to do it without the support of his inner circle, which includes working members of the royal family and a small number of senior staff who keep the institution running smoothly.

In 2019, The Times of London reported that Charles planned to slim down the monarchy to a core group of seven "working" royals, a term used to describe royals who carry out duties to support the monarch and who UK taxpayers fund. Reducing the number of working royals would therefore save the British public money, The Times reported.

Nonetheless, Charles does not seem to have put these plans — if they exist — in motion. There are 10 working members of the royal family that currently support Charles as of May 2023, in addition to several key staff members who work behind the scenes.

Buckingham Palace did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Here are all the major players in the king's orbit, in order of most to least senior.

Camilla, Queen Consort, will be known as Queen Camilla after the coronation, Buckingham Palace announced in April.

Her role involves supporting the king at official engagements, including state banquets, the opening of the British Parliament, royal tours, and charity engagements.

Camilla, 75, married Charles in 2005 and used the title Duchess of Cornwall before Charles ascended the throne. While it was previously thought that she would eventually take the title of Princess Consort, Queen Elizabeth announced her wish for Camilla to be called Queen Consort in February 2022.

Camilla is considered the most senior member of the royal family after Charles, and all royals are expected to either bow or curtsy to her just as they would to the king, the French international magazine Marie Claire reported. Camilla is the only royal woman who does not have to curtsy to anyone, the publication added.

Richard Fitzwilliams, a royal commentator and a former editor of The International Who's Who, told Insider that Camilla's charitable work is "most impressive" and that she "conducts her duties with a quiet dedication." The charities and royal patronages the king and queen consort are involved with have been under review by the royal household since Queen Elizabeth's death and Charles' ascension, though the palace has not indicated when this is expected to be completed.

William, 40, became the Prince of Wales and first in line to the British throne upon Charles' accession.

William, alongside his wife, Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, is the "future of the monarchy," thanks to their work supporting environmental causes and mental-health awareness, Fitzwilliams said. The couple and Prince Harry founded Heads Together, an initiative to challenge the stigma surrounding mental health, in 2016. More recently, William founded The Earthshot Prize to award those working to repair and regenerate the planet every year until 2030.

Fitzwilliams added that the couple is "attached to few charities numerically, but they give a huge boost to the ones they support."

Additionally, William is one of Charles' Counsellors of State, roles given to the monarch's spouse and the next three people in the line of succession over the age of 21 who can undertake royal duties on behalf of the king in the event of his absence or illness. The role is open to both working and non-working royals.

The other Counsellors of State are: Queen Camilla, Prince Harry, Prince Andrew, and Princess Beatrice.

Kate, 41, became a member of the royal family upon her wedding to William on April 29, 2011. Kate was formerly known as the Duchess of Cambridge and was given the title of Princess of Wales when William became Prince of Wales in September 2022.

She previously supported the Queen and now works to support Charles at royal events, including palace-garden parties, Trooping the Colour, the monarch's annual birthday parade; and welcoming various heads of state on visits to the UK, according to the royal website. She is also well-known for her work in early-childhood support.

The princess holds a rare position as one of the most senior spouses within the royal family. Not only is she the future queen consort, but she is also the mother of the future king. Kate and William's eldest child, Prince George, is second in line for the throne after William.

Edward, 59, is Charles' youngest sibling. At the time of his birth on March 10, 1964, he was third in line to the throne. As of May 2023, Edward is 13th in line to the throne.

Though he's 13th in line, Edward is the most senior working royal after William and Kate. This is due to the fact that two royals who are ahead of him in the line of succession — Prince Harry, who's fifth in line, and Prince Andrew, who's eighth in line — stepped back from and were stripped of their royal duties, respectively, in recent years. The children of William, Harry, and Andrew are also ahead of Edward in the line of succession, but they're not working royals. If the children decide to undertake royal duties when they come of age, they will be considered more senior than Edward.

Prince Edward was previously known as the Earl of Wessex and King Charles gave him the Duke of Edinburgh title, which belonged to Prince Philip, on his 59th birthday in March 2023, according to a palace press release.

Sophie, 58, became a member of the royal family upon her wedding to Edward on June 19, 1999. The couple has two children together, Lady Louise — who was born in 2013 — and James, the Earl of Wessex — who was born in 2007.

She became a working royal after marrying Edward, and the couple stepped back from their duties for a short period in the early 2000s to pursue their private careers. Edward ran his own production company, while Sophie worked in PR, Insider previously reported.

The couple returned to royal duties full-time in 2002 after a PR scandal involving Sophie's company went public. A News of the World journalist went undercover as a potential client for Sophie's PR firm and published transcripts of her comments about politics and Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of the UK, The Guardian reported at the time. Since Britain has a constitutional monarchy, it's against protocol for royals to get involved with politics or to voice their opinion on political matters.

These days, Sophie works alongside a number of charities that support gender equality, avoidable blindness, and supporting people with disabilities.

Anne, 72, is the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Though Anne is the second-born of the couple's four children, she's behind Andrew and Edward in the line of succession because royal sons automatically preceded daughters at the time she was born. The rules were changed in 2013 before Prince George's birth.

Hello Magazine named Anne the hardest-working royal in December 2022 because she attended 214 engagements, the most engagements of any royal-family member that year, the magazine reported at the time. The Guardian reported in March 2023 that Anne carried out 11,088 engagements from 2002 to 2022, averaging 528 per year, more than any other living royal.

She also played a key role in the lead-up to Queen Elizabeth's funeral processions. Anne was with her mother when she died and accompanied her coffin as it was transported from Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands to Edinburgh, the capital city where the public could pay their respects before the Queen's body was moved to London.

Richard, 78, is a cousin of Queen Elizabeth. He supports 150 charities and organizations as part of his role as a working royal, including those that promote awareness of humanitarian issues, the environment, and military veterans, according to the royal website.

As a less-senior member of the family, Richard keeps a low profile and displays a "modest image," according to Fitzwilliams, and he isn't featured in the press as often as his other royal counterparts. Nonetheless, he attends major royal events including Trooping the Colour, the monarch's birthday parade at Buckingham Palace, which was limited to only working members of the family in 2022.

Richard is so far back in the line of succession that he isn't featured at all on the royal website's succession page, which names only the 23 royals closest to the throne.

Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester, 76, became a working member of the royal family upon her marriage to Prince Richard on July 8, 1972.

The royal website says that Birgitte was born in Denmark and relocated to the UK to attend finishing school in Cambridge, where she met Richard. He was studying at the University of Cambridge at the time. After returning to Denmark for three years, she returned to the UK to work for the Royal Danish Embassy in London in 1971.

Similar to her husband, Birgitte keeps a low profile in the media. The royal website states that she supports more than 60 organizations across the arts, the military, sports, health, welfare, and education.

Edward is a first cousin to both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

At age 87, Edward is one of the oldest members of the family. He has been a working royal since retiring from the British Army in 1976, when he was 41, according to the royal website.

Like the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Edward isn't often featured in the press and he is also so far back in the line of succession that he isn't featured on the succession page of the royal website. Despite this, he remains an active working royal and is involved with more than 140 different charities, the website states.

He has also played a key part in supporting the monarchy at public events through the years. At the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022, he was the only royal to accompany Elizabeth on her first appearance on the palace balcony, People reported.

Alexandra, 86, is a sister to Prince Edward and a cousin of Elizabeth.

Alexandra was sixth in line to the throne upon her birth in 1936, according to Town & Country Magazine. At the time of writing, she is 56th in the line of succession, the publication reported, making her the least senior working member of the royal family.

Despite her low ranking, Alexandra has represented the monarchy at events alongside Kate and Elizabeth through the years, including the annual Remembrance Service, Town & Country Magazine reported. She is also involved with more than 100 organizations that support a variety of causes in spheres from healthcare to the arts, according to the royal website.

Parker, 60, is the Lord Chamberlain of Buckingham Palace, which is the most senior position within the royal household, according to Marlene Koenig, a royal commentator and historian.

His part-time role involves overseeing the five departments that report directly to the monarch, which include the Lord Chamberlain's office, the Private Secretary's office, the Master of the Household's department, the Privy Purse and Treasurer's office, and the Royal Collection Trust, Insider previously reported. Parker also acts as the voice of the monarch, the former palace butler Grant Harrold previously told Insider, because he is responsible for all ceremonial and public events in the king's diary.

Parker has been in the role for just over two years after Elizabeth hired him in the lead-up to Prince Philip's funeral in 2021. Charles asked him to continue in his position after Elizabeth's death in September 2022, Koenig told Insider.

Alderton, 55, is the king's Private Secretary, a senior role that involves supporting the monarch in their duties as the Head of State, according to the royal website.

Alderton has worked for Charles and Camilla since 2006. In September 2022, Tatler reported that he was responsible for penning Buckingham Palace's statement in response to Prince Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview, which said "some recollections may vary," in response to the couple's allegation that an unnamed royal made comments about their son's skin color.

Koenig described Alderton as "the king's eyes and ears," adding that "nothing gets past him" in his role, which is one of the most senior in the household.

Thompson, of the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, is an equerry to the king, a role given to a member of the armed forces who's responsible for the planning and executing of the monarch's daily programs, as the Evening Standard reported in September 2022.

The role also involves looking after transportation including royal carriages, coaches, and Rolls Royces used at official events such as coronations and the State Opening of Parliament, the publication added.

Thompson, 39, started the position shortly after Charles became king, but he has been a member of the royal household for years and was previously a senior bodyguard to Elizabeth, according to the Evening Standard.

The position is not as senior as the Lord Chamberlain or the Private Secretary. Nonetheless, Thompson remains a close member of Charles' inner circle because he has stood by the monarch's side at both public and private events. He was photographed alongside Charles at his first meeting with former Prime Minister Lizz Truss in September 2022 and at the Queen's funeral the same month.

Even though Hussey doesn't get paid a salary, she's still one of the most powerful people within the royal inner circle.

Elizabeth hired Hussey, 83, as a lady-in-waiting after the birth of Prince Andrew in 1960, a role held by aristocratic women who act as personal assistants to the monarch. The position is considered honorary and non-salaried because it's often given to women who are wealthy enough to take an unpaid position, Insider previously reported.

Hussey was previously considered a key member of the royal fold. She was "very close to the Queen," Koenig previously told Insider; she's also a godmother to Prince William and was featured in his official family-christening photos.

When Elizabeth died and Camilla took the role of Queen Consort, it was reported that she wouldn't have ladies-in-waiting, but would instead have a close circle of women named "Queen's companions." Elizabeth's ladies would retain their roles and would be renamed "ladies of the household," BBC News reported at the time.

However, Hussey stepped back from her honorary role in November 2022 after she was accused of making racist comments toward a Black charity founder attending a palace event Camilla hosted.

Ngozi Fulani, the founder of the domestic-violence charity Sistah Space, wrote on Twitter that an employee named "Lady SH" questioned her about where she was "really from" at an event. At the time, a palace spokesperson told Insider that the comments were "unacceptable and deeply regrettable" and confirmed that Hussey had resigned.

In December, the palace confirmed that Hussey had apologized to Fulani at an in-person meeting and published a photo of the two smiling together. While the palace did not confirm whether the institution had reinstated Hussey to her position, the Daily Mail reported in February that she represented Princess Anne at a memorial service for Dame Frances Campbell-Preston. A family friend told the publication that it was great to see Hussey "back in the royal fold."

Buckingham Palace did not respond to Insider's request for comment regarding Hussey's reported reinstatement.

This story is part of "Charles in Charge," our package of stories all about King Charles' coronation. Read the rest here.