Prince William May Be First in Line for the Throne, But He Doesn’t ‘Lie Awake Waiting’ to Be King
Following King Charles III’s ascension, Prince William now stands as the primary heir to the throne. Although fully cognizant of the crown’s significance, William does not currently dwell on his future as king.
In an unearthed interview with BBC News, William shed light on his approach to being next in line for the throne. While he may be waiting a long time to be King, William isn’t suffering any sleepless nights over it.
Prince William speaks on what it’s like being first in line to the throne
After Queen Elizabeth II died last year, Charles officially ascended to the throne during a grand coronation ceremony on May 6. As a result, all of the royal heirs, including William, were bumped up one spot in the line of succession.
William is currently first in line to the throne now that his father is King. In an interview with the BBC seven years ago, William shared his thoughts on being crowned after Charles is gone.
In the interview, William discussed his desire to modernize the monarchy. But when it comes to accepting the crown, William revealed that he doesn’t let it take up a lot of real estate in his mind.
“I certainly don’t lie awake waiting or hoping for it because it sadly means that my family has moved on and I don’t want that,” he stated.
William also admitted that he isn’t sure when his time will come to ascend the throne. If Charles lives as long as Queen Elizabeth, it may be a long time before that happens.
Prince William opens up about raising Prince George to be King
William’s oldest child, Prince George, is now second in the line of succession. In the distant future, George will assume the throne, but his parents aren’t rushing the process.
In fact, they are taking things one step at a time.
In the interview with BBC News, the Prince of Wales revealed he and Kate Middleton are raising their children with a sense of normalcy. However, there will come a day when they start preparing George for his future role in the monarchy.
“There’ll be a time and a place to bring George up and him understand how he fits in in the world but right now it’s just a case of keeping a secure stable environment around him,” William shared.
Seven years have passed since the BBC interview, and George has undoubtedly learned more about his royal duties. The good news is that he has plenty of time before he ascends the throne.
Charles waited a very long time to become King following Elizabeth’s historic reign. Given Charles’ age, William will likely not have to wait as long as his father.
A closer look at the royal line of succession
Traditionally, the line of succession adheres to the principle of primogeniture, wherein the eldest offspring of the heir and their progeny take precedence. They are followed by the next senior sibling and their descendants.
Consequently, Charles’ children and grandchildren supersede his older brother, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. Other stipulations make the royal line of succession more complex.
These sets of rules were generally followed until 2013. At that time a new law was passed called the Succession to the Crown Act. This abolished the longstanding tradition of prioritizing a younger son over an elder daughter in the order of succession.
Consequently, Princess Charlotte assumes a higher position in the succession hierarchy than her younger brother, Prince Louis. This will change in the event that George marries and has children of his own. His children will then become next in line to the throne.
