A former fellow of history at Emmanuel College and BBC defence correspondent, Christopher Lee, has caused controversy by calling the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge “celebrities without gravitas”.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, he described how he believes William and Catherine should be thought of as celebrities in the same bracket as David and Victoria Beckham because “they love bending down and talking to kids and doing ordinary things. They are ordinary, but they are celebrities rather than old-fashioned, ‘don’t ask questions, don’t touch me’ royalty.”

Speaking to Varsity, Lee explained that celebrity culture has significantly changed our perceptions of royalty: “They appear, smile, wave, and from their own mouths want to be the people’s royalty and then retreat into the Hello magazine slot of celebrity royalty. They leave no trace other than newspaper images.”

He has also criticised William and Catherine for failing to engage with Cambridge – the city whose name they bear: “They play no role. You cannot show pictures of the Prince with the vice chancellor and master of his college without at most seeing this as a token picture opportunity.”

Speaking about the news that Prince William is studying at the University of Cambridge on a 10-week agricultural management course, Lee said: “People think it’s a non-course.”

In his book, Monarchy Past, Present…and Future?, Lee has challenged some widely held assumptions about the royal family. He has predicted that Prince Charles will be a successful king, despite the negative view of him held by “cynics”.

Lee added: “We have, if we think about it, a thoughtful and at the same time humorous heir apparent. He will surprise the cynics and even be loved.”
However, Lee’s thoughts on the long-term future of the monarchy are less positive. He criticises the role of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in the public eye: “The younger royals have fewer roles that matter and have slipped into personal appearance status. They’ll not recover because there’s no mystery and even less substance about and to them.”

Perhaps most radically, Lee has suggested that by the time Prince George, comes to the throne, the state of the monarchy will have changed considerably, despite the fact that it will be “the last institution to be reformed”.

In his Daily Mail interview, Lee argued that Prince George “may have some public role in 50 years’ time but I don’t think it will be the traditional King of England role.”

In line with Hilary Mantel’s comments last February, which dismissed the Duchess of Cambridge as a “shop window mannequin”, Lee sees Catherine as just “fashion news”.