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King Charles III has taken over the throne following the death of Queen Elizabeth, and citizens are wondering how his reign will differ from the last 70 years. Here’s what one former royal staff member predicted about King Charles’ reign and how it will affect Prince William.

King Charles III and Prince William, who are next in line for the throne after the death of Queen Elizabeth.
King Charles III and Prince William | Justin Setterfield/AFP via Getty Images

King Charles III will take over the throne after the death of Queen Elizabeth 

Queen Elizabeth II died on Sept. 8 at Balmoral Castle. She was 96 years old and had ruled for seven decades. 

At the time of her death, the throne immediately passed to the heir, Charles, the former Prince of Wales, per the wishes of Her Majesty. He selected the name King Charles III as his first decision as king – he could have chosen from any of his four given names, Charles Philip Arthur George. 

His wife, Camilla, is now the Queen Consort – the title given to the monarch’s spouse. King Charles has bestowed the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales upon Prince William and Kate Middleton. William will inherit the throne after King Charles.

Queen Elizabeth’s rule was a constant in the lives of many who have become familiar with her steady presence for the last 70 years. The monarchy enters a new era, with some uncertainty about how King Charles’ reign will differ from Queen Elizabeth’s. 

A former royal butler says King Charles will be ‘the gap’ between Queen Elizabeth and Prince William 

Former royal butler Grant Harrold recently revealed how he thinks King Charles will rule differently than Queen Elizabeth, and what role Prince William will take. 

“He’ll keep the Queen’s traditions, the protocols and the etiquette. We’ll then see William bring in his modern approach and for Charles, it’ll be a mixture of both,” Harrold told Slingo. “We’ll see a King that is traditional but a little bit of a modernist too. That little bit of tradition he will pass on to William and while William will be a very modernistic monarch, almost celebrity-like as that’s the way it seems to be becoming, but he’ll still have elements of the old tradition and etiquette and that’ll be thanks to his father and his grandmother. “

The former butler said King Charles will bridge the gap between Queen Elizabeth’s and Prince William’s reigns. “There’s going to be a transition going on once the Queen has gone and before Prince William’s reign, Charles is going to be a big part of that,” Harrold opined. “It’s going to be a huge change, Prince Charles will be the gap between those two.”

Another former royal staffer thinks certain traditions will continue

Steven Kaye, former royal footman to Queen Elizabeth, believes King Charles and Prince William will maintain traditions from Her Majesty’s reign. 

“It’s about modernization, isn’t it. Will William want to live at Buckingham Palace, is that something that may continue? Or will the palace become more of a museum?” Kaye said (per Slingo). “My view is that because people view Buckingham Palace as the head office, it’s important to keep those traditions alive. The moment they start to be out of the palace and living somewhere else, that kind of erodes some of the traditions we have in this country and I think William is very aware of that.”

Kaye added, “The queen has always said, ‘I need to be seen to be believed,’ and Charles and William know how important that is.”

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