With royal popularity flying high following Princess Eugenie’s wedding and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s triumphant Pacific trip, Prince Charles has made a momentous decision to mark his 70th birthday. He will give up his claim to the throne in a move that will make way for William to become King.
A royal insider has told New Idea that the Queen and Prince Charles have come to an agreement that he will step aside to let William become the next monarch, a move that’s already been marked in a private coronation among the family.
Both the Queen and her son are delighted at how popular the new generation of royals have become and agree it’s the best move for family.
“The Queen has made it clear from the start that she wants William and Kate to be the next King and Queen, with Harry and Meghan by their sides,” reveals the source.
“She knows that the young royals are the future of the monarchy – and now that William and Kate have three children, and Harry and Meghan have a family on the way, the royal family is in incredibly safe hands. The people love and adore them – and that’s what the Queen wants in the next King and Queen.”
While Prince Charles will mark this occasion on his 70th birthday on Nov. 14, the Queen has decided 2025 marks the perfect time for her to relinquish the throne, if she’s still alive.
“She feels it will be the right time to hand over the monarchy. She’s already had a private coronation celebration for William and Kate to mark Charles’ decision to step aside.”
It was announced earlier this month that the Queen and Prince Philip will move out of Buckingham Palace in 2025 to make way for major renovations of the royal headquarters. So this will mark a convenient time for the Queen – who will be 99 years old by then – to step away from her role as sovereign.
Despite patiently waiting for his chance to be the king for years, Charles, 69, has accepted that by then he will also be too old for the role. “Charles has decided that he won’t be the next monarch,” says the palace insider.
“It hasn’t been an easy decision to make but he simply knows that he’s too old and too tired to take on such a huge responsibility – he wants to live out his twilight years with his grandchildren, enjoying his charities and philanthropic endeavours.”
With Charles effectively stepping down, his son William will become the next monarch.
Significantly, at the end of August, the official royal website announced that when William becomes King, Kate – who will be known as Queen Catherine – will have her own coronation.
The website explained, “Unless decided otherwise, a Queen Consort is crowned with the King, in a similar but simpler ceremony.”
Like the Duke of Edinburgh, before he moved away from public life, Kate’s everyday duties will see her supporting William, attending engagements, and visiting foreign countries alongside him. Most notably, by 2025 their family will be complete and all the children will be school age. With Prince Harry and Meghan’s support, it will be a good time for them to take on their expanded duties, without difficulty or upheaval.
Kate’s new, higher profile role was evident last week when she and William joined the Queen at the lavish state banquet held in honour of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands. During the occasion, Kate wore the diamond tiara that once belonged to Princess Diana and, perhaps even more significantly, the Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II – a jewel adorned image of the Queen on a yellow ribbon.
Royal watchers have also noted that over the past few months Queen Elizabeth has been quietly training Kate for her future role in other ways. In August, when they attended church at Balmoral together, it was considered significant that Kate wore a pair of earrings from the Queen’s personal jewellery collection. Meanwhile, Kate and William’s children are also being introduced to the traditions of life as a royal: George attended his first grouse shoot while Charlotte has begun riding lessons.
But there’s one member of the royal family who is not pleased about Prince Charles’ surprising decision: his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. With reports of their marriage already being under increasing strain, she’s angry Charles has willingly given up his chance at being the monarch.
“Camilla is absolutely furious over his decision and that is the real reason she missed Princess Eugenie’s wedding,” the insider explains. “She can’t believe he did this without even consulting her – but no matter what Camilla says, Charles won’t be swayed.”
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