No, Prince Charles Will Not Step Aside for Prince William to Be King

Jen Juneau
·2 min read
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Prince Charles — not his son, Prince William — is England's new monarch.

Amid the Thursday news of Queen Elizabeth's death at age 96, many have wondered whether the Prince of Wales, 73, will step aside for the Duke of Cambridge, 40, to succeed her on the throne.

But in April 2018, Queen Elizabeth made the rare move of publicly backing Charles as the next Commonwealth leader, formally asking the Commonwealth Heads of Government to appoint Charles as her successor of the association of Britain and its former colonies.

Even if the Queen had desired to skip Charles in favor of William, she did not have the power to choose her successor on a whim. The 1701 Act of Settlement is the act of Parliament that determines the succession to the throne and requires that a monarch's heir must be his or her direct successor (and a Protestant). That's Charles, not William.

Prince Charles Prince William
Prince Charles Prince William

Ben Birchall/PA Wire/Shutterstock; Victoria Jones/PA Wire/Shutterstock Prince Charles; Prince William

And as the Queen does not truly have any political power, it was not up to her to change a law — instead, it would have to be taken up in Parliament, and it wouldn't be a quick and easy process.

RELATED: Camilla Will Be Named Queen Consort — But What's the Difference Between Queen Consort and Queen?

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II stands beside Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and waves to the public as she appears on Buckingham Palace balcony at the end of the Platinum Pageant in London on June 5, 2022 as part of Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee celebrations. - The curtain comes down on four days of momentous nationwide celebrations to honour Queen Elizabeth II's historic Platinum Jubilee with a day-long pageant lauding the 96-year-old monarch's record seven decades on the throne. (Photo by HANNAH MCKAY / POOL / AFP) (Photo by HANNAH MCKAY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

HANNAH MCKAY/POOL/AFP via Getty Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth also said earlier this year that when Charles becomes the monarch, she wants his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, to be known as Queen Consort.

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In a February message timed to the eve of her Accession Day that this year marked the 70th anniversary of her becoming monarch, the Queen wrote that "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; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service."

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Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Queen Elizabeth II stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following the Platinum Pageant on June 5, 2022 in London, England. The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II is being celebrated from June 2 to June 5, 2022, in the UK and Commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952.

Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth

In a July interview with The Australian Women's Weekly, Camilla praised her late father-in-law, Prince Philip, for the example he showed about how to be a consort and support the monarch and recognized that it must have been difficult for the "macho" naval commander to take a step back.

"I learned that your place is several feet behind the monarch," added the Duchess of Cornwall, 75. "You're there as a back-up."