New Question: Brit Royalty ...?

[pengolodh_sc]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "Steve" wrote:
> Wow, and I mean WOW! You guys really have some impressive knowledge 
of
> the royal family; at least, I'm very impressed by it.
> 
> A couple of new questions-
> 
> When Charles becomes king, I am led to believe he is likely to take
> the name George; King George the ###?. How likely is that, and what
> number will he be; King George the 7th? I was under the impression
> that previous King Charles's were not well liked by the people; 
hence
> the reason for becoming King George instead.

Nobody will know for certain until the day comes, I believe.  There 
have been rumours to that effect, and it is not without precedent 
that a King ascending the throne has taken another name as Sovereign 
than the name underwhich he was commonly known as heir - but it would 
be a name he already has.  Prince Charles' full name is Charles 
Philip Arthur George, so the two likely options are that he will 
become King Charles III or King George VII - I don't think the public 
will take well to a new King Arthur at this stage, and King Philip 
has no tradition as a name within the British line of Sovereigns.  
Like the Prince of Wales, his younger brothers, the Duke of York and 
the Earl of Wessex, have a number of first names, giving them options 
in that regards, the former being  Andrew Albert Christian Edward, 
and the latter Edward Antony Richard Louis.  

The problem with the preceding kings by the name of Charles is that 
they were of a little-liked dynasty - the first one managed to get 
into a civil war with Parliament, and lost his head, with England 
being a republic in the 11 years following (not certain just what 
Scotland's status was at the time).  Nevertheless, I think it is 
likely that the Prince of Wales will ascend the throne as King 
Charles III - he is so wellknown as Prince Charles that it would feel 
strange for the public to suddenly think of him as King George.  In 
the case of Prince Albert, who became King George VI, he was known 
generally as the Duke of York, and also held a low profile, so it 
wouldn't be so much of a change for the public at large.

> Can Charles step down as king before his death, and let William
> take over?

He can - Edward VIII did, after all.  It is, however, not a "done 
thing" - the incident with Edward VIII was quite harmful to the 
British monarchy, and the Queen, who remembers this personally, 
certainly is very opposed to it.

> When Charles becomes king, do some of his titles automatically
> transfer over to William? For example, when Charles becomes king, is
> he still the Prince of Wales, or does William then become Prince of 
Wales?

Not all the titles are transferred automatically.  Prince Charles' 
titles today are Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, 
Earl of Carrick, Lord of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great 
Steward of Scotland, and Earl of Chester.  As far as I can determine, 
the titles that are automatically transferred are Duke of Cornwall, 
Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Lord of Renfrew, Lord of the 
Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.  There is a 
significance to each of these titles, but I am not familiar with all.

There is no automatic succession to the title Prince of Wales - at 
every vacancy it is merged with the Crown, and it is renewed at the 
discretion of the Sovereign.  The title may be possessed only by an 
eldest son of the ruling Sovereign, and is also exclusive to male 
heirs, the title Princess of Wales referring only to the wife of the 
Prince of Wales.
Very detailed information can be found at:
http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page391.asp

The Duchy of Cornwall was, under a charter by King Edward III of 
England in 1337, raised from earldom to dukedom, and founding charter 
included the of estates spread around England.  It was stated in the 
charter that the Duchy should be in the stewardship of the Heir 
Apparent, to provide the Heir Apparent with a source of income 
independent of the Sovereign or the State.  The properties of the 
Duchy of Cornwall are well maintained and run, and in the fiscal year 
ending March 31 2002 the Duchy yielded a net surplus of £ 7,827,000 
(US$ 13,270,664), ofwhich the Prince of Wales voluntarily pays income-
tax (for the period in question 40%).   The Duchy itself is tax 
exempt.  The income the Prince of Wales receives as Duke of Cornwall 
must meet the costs of all aspects of his public and private 
commitments, and those of Prince William and Prince Harry; unlike hte 
other active members of the Royal Family he receives no money from 
the state.  He is obliged to pass the estate on intact, so that it 
may go on to serve as a source of income for future Dukes of 
Cornwall, and is not entitled to any proceeds from disposal of 
assets; essentially he is a trustee. 

The title Duke of Rothesay seems to have tradition as a title 
associated with the Heir Apparent to the throne of Scotland.

The title Earl of Carrick is likewise very old.  Robert the Bruce, 
who was chosen in 1306 to be the King of Scots, and lead the fight 
for a free Scotland, was born in 1274 as the son of Robert Bruce, 
Earl of Carrick, and the Lordship of Carrick is recorded as early as 
1186, it being raised to Earldom in 1230; I am given to understand 
the title has remained with the title of King of Scotland since then.

The title "Lord of the Isles" originally was associated with the clan 
MacDonald, and the Isles encompass the Hebrides as well as the West 
coast of Scotland.  The Lords of the Isles rules as nearly 
independent rulers, until the titles and estates of John MacDonald 
were forfeited to King James IV of Scotland in 1494 (King James VI of 
Scotland became James I of England); the title was thereafter 
associated with the Heir to the trone of Scotland.  

The hereditary Great Stewardship of Scotland was created in 1157s; 
the Great (or High) Stewards were the agents of the Kings of 
Scotland, acting on their behalf, and handling many matters of 
government.  As the office was hereditary, the family in possession 
eventually took its anme from the office, and the family became knwon 
as Steward, later re-spelled Stuart; by prudent intermarriage with 
the Royal family, Robert Steward was the Heir Presumptive upon the 
1371 death of David II, and the Stuart dynasty lasted until 1714.   
Charles, the Prince of Wales, is High Steward of Scotland as the 
female-line descendant of Walter Fitz Alan, first holder of the 
office.

The title Earl of Chester seems to have been connected with the 
British Royal Family since the time of Edward I, but I found no more 
information about it.

The terms Heir Apparent and Heir Presumptive may seem diffuse.  The 
term Heir Apparent refers to an immediate Heir which can not be 
displaced by the birth of another person.  The term Heir Presumptive 
refers to an immediate Heir which *can* be displaced by the birth of 
another person.  In Britain, for instance, Queen Elizabeth was Heir 
Presumptive and not Heir apparent, because if her parents had had a 
legitimate son, she would have been displaced in the line of 
succession by that boy, because male Heirs take precedence in 
Britain.  Likewise Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI) 
was Heir Presumptive to King Edward VIII when the latter was still 
king, as he would have been displaced in the line of succession if 
Edward VIII had a legitimate son.  Prince Charles, on the other hand, 
cannot be displaced by the birth of another person, and so is Heir 
Apparent.

> How old was the recent Queen Mother who died? I was vaguely under 
the
> impression that she was close to or possible over 100? 

HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was 101 when she passed away - 4 
August 1900-30 March 2002.  In Britain, btw, all persons who 
celebtrate their 100th receive a congratulatory telegram from HM the 
Queen; apparently the Queen Mother looked forward to this telegram 
more than any other aspect of her birthday.  On the birthday itself 
there was a parade, including military bands, soldiers of the Queen 
Mother's regiments, and other branches of government, the last 
element in the parade being the van of the Royal Mail delivering the 
telegram.  As it happened, the Queen Mother had some difficulty in 
opening the telegram, so her Equerry had to use his officer's sword 
to open it.

> How old is the remaining Queen Mother, if there is one?

Queen Elizabeth only had one mother.

Best regards
Christian Stubø