The royal family is used to scandals at the palace, but the Jeffrey Epstein issue may have damaged them for good, according to The Independent. The younger generation isn’t buying William and Kate Middleton’s vague statement they made on February 9: “I can confirm The Prince and Princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations. Their thoughts remain focused on the victims.”

The U.K. publication sat down with members of both Gen Z and Gen A to get their feel for the monarchy, and it’s not great news for Prince William. He is the epitome of a “nepo baby” to them. (And it doesn’t help that he’s often criticized for his lack of work ethic.)

“Having grown up amid a cost-of-living crisis, Gen Z and Gen A tend to have little patience for unearned privilege. They do not see William and Kate as the dynamic future of the monarchy, but as beneficiaries of inherited status,” wrote the publication.

It doesn’t get much better for the Prince of Wales when it comes to his long-running feud with Prince Harry. While the older generations tend to side with the palace, Gen Z is labeling William as “cold” and “unkind” toward his younger brother, who they feel “paid a heavier price for his actions than Andrew did.”

Even the narrative that William wanted to “go much further, much earlier” in his punishment for his uncle than his father, King Charles, isn’t resonating with Gen Z. The Prince of Wales may have predicted his own fate.

“William made it clear this couldn’t drag on any longer,” a palace insider told Rob Shuter’s Substack, Naughty But Nice, in October 2025. “He told his father that if Andrew didn’t go quietly, the family’s image would never recover.”

The Independent explained that Gen Z is “expecting accountability” from the royal family, but they feel like the palace is out of touch with the real world. It’s going to be up to William to turn that narrative around, but the younger generations may have already tuned out.