So we have Prince Charles of Wales who I assume, should his mother ever bite the big one, will be King. That’s how it works, right?
Will he call himself King Charles? Or given the bad luck of the last King Carles does he have the right to pick another name…like King Doug, or King Ralph?
Yep, he’ll be Charles III. (I think the ‘bad luck’ you’re referring to is Charles I - the one who was executed? His son became Charles II at the restoration)
Thanks. Forgot about Charles 2.0
It’s all a lot less creepy for me now.
As for part 2 though, could he decide to be King Wasabi?
He could choose to be known by any of his given names: Charles Philip Arthur George.
There was material on the Net a while ago, I think here at SDMB, indicating that Prince Charles said he’d chosen to use “George VII” as and when he accedes to the throne, in honor of his grandfather. I can’t vouch for the validity of that information, but I think it’s worth passing along.
Seeing as the OP has been answered pretty well so far i’ll ask something further:
At what point will the order of succession switch from Prince Charles to Prince William? Let’s imagine that when the Queen passes on Prince Charles is in his 70’s, will Prince Charles still take on the role of King regardless or will a more youthful Prince William ascend to the throne for a longer reign? At what point will this switch (if any) occur?
Historically, that has never happened, so there’s no precedent. King George III remained King until his death, but his actual role was taken over by the future George IV, known at that time as the Prince Regent.
Charles is next in line, and he becomes King, regardless of his age. (And what’s wrong with having a King in his 70s, anyway?). William will just have to wait his turn.
There may be a provision if the successor is mentally incapacitated, but I doubt whether it’s age-related. And judging from history, mental competence is not a requirement for succession.
Charles is heir apparent until the death of either his mother or himself. If she dies first (as is the more probable course), he immediately accedes to the throne, and Wills becomes Duke of Cornwall and heir apparent. (He doesn’t become Prince of Wales until Charles names him to that title.) If Charles dies before the Queen, William becomes heir apparent to her, and accedes on her death.
When George III’s porphyria brought on insanity, a Regency Council was formed and the Prince of Wales (the later George IV) became Prince Regent. Only if the Queen becomes senile beyond ability to function (or otherwise goes insane or comatose) would this come into play.
The only basis for the rumour was a Sunday Times article of 13 February 2000 which claimed that Charles was ‘considering’ doing so. Their single source was an unnamed ‘royal courtier’ who had ‘discussed the matter privately with the prince’. So there might be something to it, but, then again, there might not. The most that can really be said is that the idea had crossed someone’s mind, not necessarily Prince Charles’s.
Is that the fellow whom Czar Nicholas II resembled to the point that they were mistaken for each other?
Nope: Nicky and George V resembled each other quite a lot. That would be the Queen’s grandfather, Charles’s great-grandfather. George VI was his son, Elizabeth’s father, Charles’s grandfather.
APB, thanks for the background on that. I vaguely remembered reading it but with some skepticism of the source. Now I know why.
No, the lookalike was George V.
Simulpost! Sorry!
Small nitpick, only the eldest son of a reigning monarch is Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothsay, etc. If Charles dies will Elizabeth is still on the throne she can create William Prince of Wales, but he wouldn’t be entiled to Cornwall or any of the Scottish titles. George III was never Duke of Cornwall; his father, Frederick, died without becoming king and George was made Prince of Wales.
Back when you could be mistaken for the Tsar of All The Russians, there was probably some income or attractive women or something derived from being Duke of Cornwall. Is there anything to it now besides the title?
The title actually carries quite extensive estates. I believe that’s where Prince Charles gets the bulk of his personal income from - not from the Civil List.
Yes, the income from the estates of the Duchy of Cornwall - quite a considerable sum per annum I believe.
I think the actual title was Tsar of all the Russias, not Russians.
You are relying too much on precedent as an absolute. As shown by our current Duchess of Cornwall (not known as the Princess of Wales) and Edward not becoming a Duke on his marriage (awaiting Dad’s Edinburgh tag) anything is possible if the official arbiters of historical precedence say so. Precedent is a guide only; the monarch is absolute in these matters and might well designate William as Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Rothsay etc. if Charles dies before her.