# Prince Charles becoming King **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140 "2003-11-09T00:21:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/21 "2003-11-09T12:40:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by everton \* > \*\*…it’s generally assumed that he would be called George not Charles. \*\* This thread is the first place I’ve ever heard that Charles would take the name George. Is this truly “generally assumed”? I’m well aware that it has been done in the past, as with Edward VII and George VI, but I thought that the main reason for these monarchs’ name-changes was that their first name was “Albert,” and out of deference to Queen Victoria’s wishes, neither reigned as “Albert I.” In any event, the name “Charles” has been used as the monarch’s name in the past\*, and as the heir apparent from his birth, “Charles” is the name picked out by his parents for his first name. I’d always assumed he would reign as “Charles III.” [sub]\*though not since the Stuarts, and the first had a rather unfortunate end…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/22 "2003-11-09T12:56:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by robby \* > **This thread is the first place I’ve ever heard that Charles would take the name George. Is this truly “generally assumed”?** I had thought this was the case too. Reason given: superstition about the problematic reigns of the previous Charleses. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/23 "2003-11-09T13:08:27Z")
As for how general the assumption is, running a search on “prince charles” “george VII” throws up pelnty of references. However, there’s [an official site giving responses to questions from the public](http://pco.teamhighgrove.com/enquiries.htm): > [@](#): > > _Can you please tell me what Prince Charles will be known as if he becomes king?_ > It is believed Charles would become King Charles III when ascending the throne. Though over the years there have been some stories in the press about the Prince of Wales wanting to change his name to George when he becomes king, preferring the title of George VII. The main reason for this name change was reportedly because of the incredible misfortunes both Charles the first (Stuart; reigned 1625-1649) and Charles the second (Stuart; reigned 1660-1685) experienced in life. The Prince is thought to believe some sort of bad luck is connected to their name and reigns. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/24 "2003-11-09T15:29:40Z")
By the time HM the Q is ready to push up the daisies, William will be more than ready to assume the throne himself. I strongly suspect that interested parties would lean on Charles to step aside in favor of his son, if for no other reason than to save the Treasury the cost of a coronation. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/25 "2003-11-09T17:49:42Z")
Actually, Victoria WANTED her son, Bertie to take his father’s name, or at least be called Albert Edward I, but he discarded that idea as soon as she died. And if you thought Charles was a playboy, well, they didn’t call his great-great grandfather Edward the Caressor for nothing! ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/26 "2003-11-09T21:26:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > \*\*I had thought this was the case too. Reason given: superstition about the problematic reigns of the previous Charleses. \*\* At least he’s not named Richard, or something. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/27 "2003-11-09T21:38:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > \*\*I had thought this was the case too. Reason given: superstition about the problematic reigns of the previous Charleses. \*\* Charles I had obvious problems, but what were the problems with Charles II? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/28 "2003-11-09T21:47:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dtilque \* > \*\*Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. \*\* You mean you can’t expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you?! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/29 "2003-11-09T21:47:28Z")
Exile? ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/30 "2003-11-09T21:50:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > \*\*I had thought this was the case too. Reason given: superstition about the problematic reigns of the previous Charleses. \*\* Charles I had obvious problems, but what were the problems with Charles II? ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/31 "2003-11-09T21:56:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > \*\*Exile? \*\* 1649-60 he wasn’t King… He was a popular King while he reigned though… So George is a more auspicious name? I’ve watched Blackadder you know… ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/32 "2003-11-10T08:53:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > You mean you can’t expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you?! If I went 'round saying I was an emperor just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they’d put me away! ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/33 "2003-11-10T12:38:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mascaroni \* > \*\*1649-60 he wasn’t King… > He [Charles II] was a popular King while he reigned though… > So George is a more auspicious name? > I’ve watched Blackadder you know… \*\* It’s the fact that Charles II is the most famous of all royal adulterers that’s the potential problem. George, in contrast, has the advantage of having been his grandfather’s and great-grandfather’s name. George V and George VI also have the sort of stolid, boring, scandal-free images with which Charles might want to associate himself at the start of his reign. Saying that he wanted to be George VII as a tribute to George VI would be widely seen as a nice gesture. This, of course, is all just speculation. No one really knows. ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/34 "2003-11-10T12:39:29Z")
I appear to have stumbled on an anarcho-syndicalist collective… Charles simply CAN’T stand aside - it makes a mockery of the whole thing. It is his duty to wait, and assuming he outlives his mum (not a foregone conclusion) he will become king - and I can see no reason why he wouldn’t make a good one. It also means that William will most likely take the throne quite young, and it will be interesting to see what Regnal name he takes - as Kings called Billy can be a bit contentious in certain parts of the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/35 "2003-11-10T14:54:44Z")
I think people forget that it’s the job of the Prince Of Wales to be an embarrassment, has been for centuries. Charles has actually been pretty rubbish at it. He’s tried his best, what with Camilla etc, but totally failed to completely outrage public morals. I’m sure William will step up to fill the job far better. No one will do it quite as well a Hugh Laurie, naturally. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/36 "2003-11-10T15:13:34Z")
It really is amusing to see the “outrage” over Charles’s behaviour. Put it into perspective – compared to most politicians, heads of state, or corporate leaders, and certainly compared to his own royal forebears, Charles has led a rather unremarkable life so far as indiscretion or moral failings go. On top of it, he seems to be a more or less intelligent, serious, and concerned person when it comes to matters of the public welfare. It’s this, I think, that makes politicians concerned about a Charles monarchy, because British monarchs are supposed to stay out of matters of public policy. ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/37 "2003-11-10T15:24:10Z")
Who here among us can say, hand on heart, that they haven’t copped a nosh off the servants? Come on, be honest. If it wasn’t for the tea tarts at Winchester, and a varietry of Au pairs and nannies, I would have gone blind in my single years. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/38 "2003-11-10T15:33:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Captain Amazing \* > \*\*At least he’s not named Richard, or something. \*\* Or John. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/39 "2003-11-10T16:08:22Z")
I wouldn’t hold my breath. Considering how long Her Majesty’s mother lived and the fact that she was lucid pretty much the whole time, it’s reasonable to believe Elizabeth II could have another 20 years left in her or more. By the time she finally kicks off, this may be a moot question, because she has a good shot at outliving Charles. ---
**Author:** ![curly\_chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@curly\_chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curly_chick)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140/40 "2003-11-10T16:17:57Z")
Well, Prince Phillip isn’t exactly in the first flush of youth either, is he? Seems to me that while there is no reason to suggest that The Queen is in anything less than robust health, the longevity genes could quite easily pass to Prince Charles from both his mother and his father sides. If his mother lasts another 20 years, Prince Charles will be in his seventies and both his parents will have lived beyond that, so why not him? Prince William may well have a long time to wait to fulfill his destiny; like father like son. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-charles-becoming-king/212140.md?page=3)