Prince Charles is presently heir (next in line) to the British throne. He will not become king until his mother, Queen Elizabeth, abdicates (gives up the throne), retires or dies. When either of these happen, Prince Charles may abdicate and pass the throne to his eldest son Prince William.
Prince William
The current Prince of Wales is first in line for the throne. He will succeed his father, Charles III, as king.
Equally now, if Prince William dies before King Charles, William's son Prince George of Cambridge, will be next in line to the throne, not Prince Charles' second son Prince Harry.
With Charles the new king, Prince William (the queen's third-eldest grandchild) will take on new titles, including the traditional styling given to the king-in-waiting. “William becomes Duke of Cornwall when Charles becomes king and will be invested [formally named] as Prince of Wales,” Harris says.
After Charles, Prince William is next in line to the throne, as he is Charles's eldest son. When William becomes king, the Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine, will become Queen Consort. Following William, his eldest son Prince George is next in line for the throne, as the first-born child.
Yes, Prince Harry could one day be king…but there'd need to be a lot of unfortunate and premature deaths in order for that to happen. And even if it did happen, there's no certainty that the present Duke of Sussex would actually want to take on the role (he could very well choose to abdicate).
Prince George can become King at any age. However, if he has to be anointed before he is 18 years-old a regency is automatically established. According to the standing Regency Acts, if the Monarch is under the age of 18 royal roles and functions are taken on by an appointed regent.
') William certainly has the option of choosing a new regnal name when he becomes King (perhaps one of his middle names: Arthur, Philip, or Louis, or George, like his great-grandfather), but if he keeps William, he would be known as King William V.
Kate will instead be a queen consort, the wife of a reigning king (William, of course). In the role, she will support her husband in his duties, attend engagements, and help with charitable organizations that resonate with her.
Charles will not be changing his name, as was previously speculated. He will be known as King Charles III. Charles was nine when he was given the title the Prince of Wales.
In the event of Prince William's death occurring before King Charles's, Prince Harry would still not be the next choice for King, instead that honor would move on to Prince William's eldest son, Prince George.
If William abdicated then George would be King and a Regent would need to be found to cover the next 10 years.
Both of them are married or partners of the next in line to the throne. This means that neither Camilla nor Kate will ever be known as Queen, only as Queen Consort. When William becomes king, that will be the title that awaits her.
Even if she had desired to skip her eldest son, Charles, in favour of her grandson, William, she did not have the power to choose her successor on a whim.
Princess Charlotte
She would become Queen only if Prince George predeceased her without having any living children.
Prince Edward - 13th in line to the throne
He married Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, in June 1999. On 10 March 2023, Buckingham Palace revealed Edward had been named the new Duke of Edinburgh, taking his late father's title.
Prince William defied royal protocol at the King's Coronation when he chose not to bow to Queen Camilla at the Coronation Concert. A body language expert claims that the Prince of Wales might have found it strange to perform such a gesture to his stepmother.
In the event of Charles' passing, Camilla's step son Prince William will ascend the throne as King of the United Kingdom and 14 commonwealth realms. Automatically, Camilla's title would change as Kate Middleton would take over the title of Queen.
The last person to hold the title Queen Consort was the current queen's mother. When her husband King George VI died in 1952 she was officially re-styled Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. If William dies before Kate and their son Prince George becomes king, Kate will then become the Queen Mother.
Even if the Queen wanted to change her successor, she doesn't have the power to do so. It's against the law, specifically the 1701 Act of Settlement, which requires that a monarch's heir must be a direct successor and a Protestant. Prince Charles fits the bill on both accounts.
'Under common law, Prince Charles will automatically become King the moment the Queen dies. Prince William could only become King if Prince Charles chose to abdicate. That would require legislation, as happened with the Declaration of Abdication Act 1936.
Charles will keep his name.
Clarence House and then-Prime Minister Liz Truss confirmed shortly after the death of Queen Elizabeth that Charles would go by the name King Charles III.
Prince George can become King at any age. However, if he has to be anointed before he is 18 years-old a regency is automatically established. Prince George is third in line to the throne... 7.
According to the Regency Acts in force, if the monarch is under the age of 18 years when he or she succeeds to the throne, a regency is automatically established, and, until the monarch attains the age of 18 years, the royal functions are discharged by the regent in the name and on behalf of the monarch.
King Oyo of Uganda currently holds the world record for youngest reigning monarch. Oyo, who leads the Tooro kingdom of Uganda, was crowned in 1995, at age 3. During his coronation, he sat upon a miniature throne playing with toys, pulled off his crown, and crawled away into his mother's lap.