Culture
King Charles could abdicate throne early and turn crown over to Prince William, say royal experts
Speculation arose among royal experts just as Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II announced she was stepping down on Jan. 14 to turn her throne over to her 55-year-old son
January 3, 2024 12:45pm
Updated: January 3, 2024 12:46pm
King Charles could turn the throne over to his eldest son, Prince William, a possibility that surfaced among royal experts just as Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II announced she was stepping down.
The 83-year-old monarch, who is the third cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II announced in her New Year’s Eve speech on Dec. 31 that she would step down on Jan. 14 and turn the crown over to her son, Crown Prince Frederik.
Jan. 14 will be the 52nd anniversary of the day the Queen took the throne in 1972 after her father, King Frederik IX, died.
In an interview with the British Daily Mail, biographer and royal expert Phil Dampier said the King may be considering turning over the throne to William and his wife, Kate Middleton.
The move would spare William the long wait Charles endured as his mother, Queen Elizabeth II lived to 96 and reigned for 70 years, making her one the second longest reigning monarch in Britain’s history.
“It must make you wonder if, in five or ten years’ time, King Charles might think about doing the same if his health suffers or he just thinks it is a good time to pass on to William and Kate while they are still young,” Dampier told the Daily Mail.
“Our late Queen would never abdicate because of what happened in 1936 when her uncle abdicated and her father came to the throne. But times change.”
The royal expert’s theory was repeated by royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, who added that Denmark’s Queen’s decision to step down was most likely centered around the desire to keep the monarchy kept up with the times, a notion Charles has expressed interest in.
Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail that Queen Margrethe may have “calculated that an aging monarchy was not a good idea, especially if she had reigned for another decade or so.”
Other royal experts have speculated that the Queen’s decision to turn her crown over to her son was a crisis-management based decision after rumors surfaced that the 55-year old prince, Frederik, cheated on his wife, Crown Princess Mary, a 51-year old marketing consultant.
The reports surfaced after speculation arose about the affair after photos captured the prince spending time with 47-year-old Mexican socialite Genoveva Casanova during a trip to Madrid in November.
Casanova has denied the allegations.
