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]
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
