On a historic day, last May 10th, Prince Charles took, for the first time in his life, the Queen’s place to open the British Parliament. To some, this is a clear sign of how the monarchy is starting to make a slow and smooth transition of powers.
When Charles becomes King of the United Kingdom, he will have spent most of his life in preparation to take the throne and, he will be the oldest British monarch to ever wore the Crown.
This is what will happen right after Charles becomes the monarch and what his regency would look like, according to the experts.
You might find interesting: Queen Elizabeth won’t formally abdicate, but the transition is already happening
He could become Prince Regent
In the event that Queen Elizabeth becomes so incapacitated (meaning having a severe illness of mind or body), Prince Charles will be appointed Prince Regent, with the power of decision in the representation of the actual monarch.
According to Carolyn Harris, Ph.D., historian, and author of Raising Royalty: 1000 Years of Royal Parenting, the most probable scenario is that the Queen starts to delegate duties to Charles, engaging in a bigger number of public events and more decision-making power behind the scenes, just like what we saw with the opening of the Parliament.
The Queen gets to keep her title while Charles starts to act in certain important royal duties. It is most likely that the Queen will never abdicate.
If the Queen dies, Charles immediately becomes King
There is already a whole plan to announce Queen Elizabeth’s passing, however that very same instant, Prince Charles becomes King.
Right after such an event happens, an “Accession Council” is formed to formally recognize the transition and proclaim Charles as the new British monarch. He will then take an oath to preserve the Church of Scotland and the Parliament will be recalled for its members to take oaths of allegiance.
He will have to choose a name
It is most likely that, just like her mother did, Charles keeps his given name to become a King, making him King Charles III.
Another option is that he chooses one of his other names for his regency, such as George like his grandfather.
But that is not the only decision regarding his name he has to make. As of today, the current sovereign official name is “Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.”
According to Harris, it is likely that Charles makes a little change to make his new name more inclusive by adding “Defender of Faiths” instead of “Defender of the Faith”.
Plans for the coronation begins
Normally, the ceremony takes place months after the monarch has been proclaimed and traditionally is a ceremony presided y the Archbishop of Canterbury at Westminster.
Some experts believe that for Charles’ coronation, the organizers will find a place for other Christian denominations and religions, just like what happened at Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding.
Notes and the National Anthem will change
When the new British monarch takes the throne, the national anthem will have to change its famous phrase of “God Save the Queen” to “God Save the King”.
All new red postal boxes will have the new royal cipher instead of the actual one that is ER (which stands for Elizabeth II Regina), and new stamps and banknotes will include Charles’ face.
Camilla will become Queen
It was said that Camilla would not take the title of Queen once Charles becomes king, however, it was in February 2022, on the eve of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, that the monarch publicly acknowledge her desire for Camilla to be known as Queen consort when the time arrives.
In a message to the nation, the Queen wrote: “When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me.
It is most likely that Camilla’s children will not take any royal titles.
Slimmed-down monarchy
One of the main goals of Charles once he becomes King is to cut down the expenses of taxpayers’ money for the Royal family and that will be done by slimming down the senior members that will represent the Crown.
It was during the 2020 Christmas when we get to see a glimpse of these new royals, which includes Princess Anne, the Dukes of Cambridge, and Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex.
That means, Prince Andrew (and given his ties with Jeffrey Epstein), Princess Beatrice, and Eugene will no longer get public money.
Of course, Prince Harry and Meghan will not be included since they no longer receive any money.
William will be the new Prince of Wales
Although it’s more than likely that Prince William will hold the title, it’s not an automatic transition, the title must be conferred by the monarch upon their heir, just as the Queen did with Charles.
Once the monarch decides, Prince William will be known as Prince of Wales and Kate will be the new Princess of Wales.
Opening up palaces
Amongst Charles’ plans to reduce expenses, it is said that he has talked about opening most of the royal palaces and castles to the public as a way to make them more sustainable.
It is also said that Charles plans to open up Buckingham Palace and live in a small department within the premises as a way to honor his family.
Archie and Lilibet could finally get their titles
It was revealed by Meghan that neither Archie or Lilibet have royal titles, a decision the Dukes of Sussex took since they left the royal family, however, once Charles becomes King that could change.
Because they will be now the grandchildren of the monarch and have gone up in the line of succession to the throne, they will be able to receive their prince and princess titles.
