# What happens if the Queen survives an heir (UK)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 27, 2019, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144 "2019-06-27T09:15:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/61 "2019-06-28T15:03:31Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Once the Queen steps down, can she step back up if she is displeased with the results? Can she put herself back on the list of succession? Stepping down?? That’s not how it works around here. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/62 "2019-06-28T15:06:57Z")
You’ve done away with abdication? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/63 "2019-06-28T15:14:45Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Stepping down?? That’s not how it works around here. No? Her uncle’s abdication put Elizabeth’s father on the throne. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/64 "2019-06-28T15:46:25Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > No? Her uncle’s abdication put Elizabeth’s father on the throne. That was HIGHLY unusual, and for a very specific reason, as we all know. And it’s the only time in British history that it has been done ‘voluntarily’. The Queen is going nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/65 "2019-06-28T16:02:54Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > That was HIGHLY unusual, and for a very specific reason, as we all know. And it’s the only time in British history that it has been done ‘voluntarily’. The Queen is going nowhere. There is a world of difference between “she can’t” and “she won’t”. Can she? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/66 "2019-06-28T17:07:27Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > The Queen is going nowhere. I’m glad we have someone here who is in personal communication with the monarch.😉 While I think abdication is unlikely while she is in good health, if she became incapacitated I doubt it would be off the table. Of course, it was unprecedented in modern history for a Pope to retire, until one did. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/67 "2019-06-28T17:14:40Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Can she? If she wants to. It’s not entirely her decision to make, but there’s no way any Prime Minister or Parliament would refuse her wish, and the necessary legislation would be implemented. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/68 "2019-06-28T17:18:43Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > There is a world of difference between “she can’t” and “she won’t”. > Can she? Britain does not have the history of abdication due to old age that e.g. the Benelux countries do, so abdication still carries the connotations of abdicating responsibility and abandoning the country. While Charles has improved his public standing over the last couple of years, he’s still nowhere near as popular as his mother, so we’d have the spectacle of the monarch forsaking Britain to pass the crown to a relatively unpopular heir. Parliament would have to pass a law to permit the abdication, as they did in '36, but there’s a reasonable fear that in such circumstances they might decide the UK doesn’t need a monarch at all, and pass a law to abolish the monarchy after Elizabeth. If there is any chance at all of that happening, Elizabeth’s own sense of duty cannot and will not allow her to bow herself off the stage. Otherwise, yes, if she can get Parliament to agree to allow her to abdicate, she can. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/69 "2019-06-28T17:26:39Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > While I think abdication is unlikely while she is in good health, if she became incapacitated I doubt it would be off the table. The immediate family have taken over more and more of her routine duties in recent years - she’s 93 after all - and I expect that will continue to expand. If she becomes incapacitated, then provision exists (Regency Act 1937 covers this, I think) for Charles to be appointed Regent. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/70 "2019-06-28T17:56:05Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BUY6HGqYweQ/maxresdefault.jpg "How to Become the British Monarch") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUY6HGqYweQ) This is an amusing video about the British monarchy, from just a few years ago. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilalzTsVp_Q) Long and detailed family tree of the British monarchs. Forgot, there was a female heir who died. Princess Charlotte, only legitimate child of George IV, died in childbirth, along with the kid. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/71 "2019-06-28T18:13:23Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I think it’s a pity the Royal Family has been so English in their names. What about restoring some of the names of Scots kings? Alexander, Robert, Malcolm and Kenneth would all work in modern Britain. They could go a bit father afield, with Angus. Or David, which would be both Scots and Welsh. Patrick and Brian are both good Irish names. Nah. I say, go _real_ old-school:[Somerled](http://https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerled). FWIW, one of Charles’ titles is Lord of the Isles, which he ultimately inherits from the 12th c. Scoto-Norse warlord. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/72 "2019-06-28T18:58:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > You’ve done away with abdication? Abdication would require a specific act of parliament, there’s no set law or procedure for it. There’s only been 6 that I know of in Britain - 2 English, 2 Scottish and 2 UK, and the only one in modern times (i.e. post-1688) was Edward VIII. Edward was the only one who did so even vaguely willingly, and there’s no precedent for a monarch simply stepping down due to not wanting the job. There’s really no reason for the monarch to step down rather than delegating all their duties, and it’s unknown if they could do so without the consent of parliament. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/73 "2019-06-28T19:15:07Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Next someone will be counting Jane as one of the queens of England. > > [Well, I happen to like Queen Jane, but the victors get to write history and she wasn’t one of the victors.] Yep, they dont list Jane, even tho she was proclaimed, but they do list Edward V, even tho he never ruled, reigned or was crowned, and was declared illegitimate. The Tudors were very good at propaganda. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/74 "2019-06-28T19:38:03Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Nah. I say, go _real_ old-school:[Somerled](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerled). FWIW, one of Charles’ titles is Lord of the Isles, which he ultimately inherits from the 12th c. Scoto-Norse warlord. [Fixed the link there] Or he could go with [Æthelred](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelred_the_Unready), but the British public may not be ready for that name. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/75 "2019-06-28T20:25:08Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > or he could go with [Æthelred](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%c3%86thelred_the_unready), but the british public may not be ready for that name. I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/76 "2019-06-28T21:18:53Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > [Fixed the link there] > > Or he could go with [Æthelred](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelred_the_Unready), but the British public may not be ready for that name. It would be an ill-advised choice. (I also saw what you did.) Thanks for fixing the link! ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/77 "2019-06-28T21:28:09Z")
Has the time come for another [Cnut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnut_the_Great) to sit upon the throne? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/78 "2019-06-28T21:34:28Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > Britain does not have the history of abdication due to old age that e.g. the Benelux countries do, so abdication still carries the connotations of abdicating responsibility and abandoning the country. While Charles has improved his public standing over the last couple of years, he’s still nowhere near as popular as his mother, so we’d have the spectacle of the monarch forsaking Britain to pass the crown to a relatively unpopular heir. Parliament would have to pass a law to permit the abdication, as they did in '36, but there’s a reasonable fear that in such circumstances they might decide the UK doesn’t need a monarch at all, and pass a law to abolish the monarchy after Elizabeth. If there is any chance at all of that happening, Elizabeth’s own sense of duty cannot and will not allow her to bow herself off the stage. > > Otherwise, yes, if she can get Parliament to agree to allow her to abdicate, she can. I think it would also require laws to be passed by Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu, wouldn’t it? And some of those countries might be considerably more likely than the UK itself to decide to take the opportunity to go ahead and chuck\* the whole monarchy thing. \*I just realized that [I made a pun!](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Chuck) Ahem. Sorry. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Once the Queen steps down, can she step back up if she is displeased with the results? Can she put herself back on the list of succession? > [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > No. Well, probably not. To start with, the only established procedure by which she can vacate the throne is by dying, in which case her displeasure and attempt to return would be miraculous. Although under _those_ circumstances, who the hell would try to stop her from re-taking the throne? “The Queen is Undead! Long…er…live the Queen!” _gulp_ ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/79 "2019-06-28T21:39:47Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Has the time come for another [Cnut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnut_the_Great) to sit upon the throne? That would be cruel to dyslexics. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144/80 "2019-06-28T22:20:09Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Has the time come for another [Cnut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnut_the_Great) to sit upon the throne? I think popular support might wax and wane, on that. You know how it is - sometimes you feel like a Cnut, sometimes you don’t. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-queen-survives-an-heir-uk/836144.md?page=5)