Queen Elizabeth May Be the Last Female Monarch in British History, Royal Expert Says
Queen Elizabeth has enjoyed a record-breaking reign in the United Kingdom that won’t soon be replicated. After taking the throne at the age of 27, she’s served as monarch for an incredible 68 years. And she’s not done yet.
However, the queen will eventually retire from her post either by choice or by death. And when she does it could mark the end of female rulers in the U.K. forever. At least, that’s how one royal expert sees it.
The next 3 rulers of the United Kingdom will most likely be kings
Assuming the monarchy continues on without major changes, then the next ruler will be Prince Charles, who also happens to be the longest-serving heir apparent. The queen’s eldest son has been second in line for the throne for an incredible 72 years.
Up next there’s Prince William, the eldest son of the late Princess Diana and Prince Charles. Plenty of Brits wish the line of succession would skip Charles in favor of his more charismatic and popular son. But with a country steeped in tradition, that seems quite unlikely.
After Prince William’s reign ends his oldest child, Prince George, will become the king. And that’s only if the monarchy lasts that long.
One royal author believes the monarchy will be abolished
The British monarchy has a long and storied past. However, it looks a lot different than it did 100 years ago. The role of reigning monarchs now isn’t the same as it was back then. With a constitutional monarchy, the king or queen doesn’t make political decisions. This causes some citizens to wonder if there’s any point to having a monarchy at all.
Author Clive Irving describes this reality in his new book, The Last Queen: Elizabeth II’s Seventy Year Battle to Save the House of Windsor. After noting some of the most memorable queens of the past, Irving mentioned how he believes things will change.
“Looking at the future of the monarchy and the future of the Windsor brood, if you look at the line of succession, it is clearly a male line of succession,” he said, according to Glamour.
“The future of the monarchy itself will be decided over the next three to four decades, and it will depend on whether people feel it is relevant to their lives anymore.”
Prince George may never become king
Looking ahead, Irving doesn’t believe the monarchy will last beyond Prince George or even make it that far. Though the public loved Queen Elizabeth, they’re less enthusiastic about Prince Charles and could opt to start a serious plan for abolishing the monarchy. After all, it’s taxpayer funding that keeps them around in the first place.
But if the monarchy continues, then Prince George’s firstborn child will fall next in the line of succession if he has any. If he does not, then the next person in line will be his younger sister Princess Charlotte thanks to the Succession to the Crown Act of 2013. Before that went into law, it would have skipped Charlotte in favor of Prince Louis.
The future is of the monarchy is uncertain. But for now, there will be several kings on the throne before we see another queen.
