The queen is dead, long live the king! After more than 70 years of reign, Queen Elizabeth II has passed away “peacefully” Thursday September 8, at the age of 96, in his castle of Balmoral, in Scotland. In the process, his eldest son, Charles, became king, under the name of Charles III. He will be proclaimed sovereign on Saturday morning at St. James’s Palace in London. After the disappearance of the monarch, eight times grandmother and twelve times great-grandmother, franceinfo draws up the table of the immediate order of succession to the British throne.
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King Charles III ascends the throne
At the age of 73, King Charles III is the oldest sovereign to wear the crown of the British kingdom. Formerly Prince of Wales, Elizabeth II had been preparing him for his succession for several years. In 2018, the former monarch also named her son as her successor at the head of the Commonwealth. The new sovereign will speak for the first time on television as king this Friday evening.
Among the British, Charles III is not the most popular royal figure. Many of his subjects resented his divorce from Princess Diana, nicknamed “Lady Di”, adored by all Britons, who died tragically in 1997. The heir to the throne’s unpopularity was fueled by the extra- marriage he had with Camilla Parker Bowles, his childhood sweetheart, whom he has since married and who now becomes the queen consort.
The very popular Prince William is getting closer to the Crown
On the death of King Charles III, his eldest son, Prince William, will take over. First child of “Lady Di”, the dolphin is much more popular than his father. In the second term, he was the third most beloved member of the British royal family, behind his grandmother, the late Elizabeth II, and his wife, Kate. He had 66% favorable opinions, compared to only 42% for the current King Charles III. With his wife Kate, William embodies the new generation of the royal family and the next generation. In recent years, they have taken on more and more responsibility, multiplying appearances on behalf of the crown.
Kate and William’s three children follow
From the union of Kate Middleton and Prince William were born three children: Prince George (9 years old), Princess Charlotte (7 years old) and Prince Louis (3 years old). As the eldest, George is now the second heir to the crown in line to the throne, after his father William. George and Charlotte accomplished their first royal engagements during the year alongside their parents, a sign of William and Kate’s desire to place their descendants in the continuity of the monarchical order.
Prince Harry in sixth position
Prince Harry, brother of Prince William and youngest son of Charles and Diana, is sixth in the list to accede to the throne. He was demoted in the line of succession by the birth of William and Kate’s three children. After a princely wedding in 2018 with American actress Meghan Markle, Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite grandson abandoned all royal duties and rebuilt his life in California, with his wife and two young children. A decision that caused a scandal across the Channel. The couple flaunted their resentment against the royal family in an interview on American television, suggesting in particular that they were racist.
The two children of Meghan and Harry after their father
The two children of Harry and Mehghan follow their father in the order of succession. Archie (3 years old), the first, followed by Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor (1 year old), named after the nickname of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Next in the order of succession, the two brothers of King Charles III. First, Prince Andrew, his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and their babies. Then, Prince Edward and his two children, James and Louise. The line then goes through Princess Anne, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, her children and grandchildren.