Queen Elizabeth is making plans for Charles’ regency in three years’ time
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The Daily Mail has a tendency to do some very interesting “what if” royal stories in the dead of summer. I personally think they save some of their bitchiest and most shady stuff for when the Queen goes to Balmoral, and when most of the royals are enjoying their summer holidays. The DM has been doing an interesting series about the Queen and Prince Charles and how the Queen seems to be indicating that she’s increasingly more susceptible to the idea of a regency, meaning that she will still be the Queen, but as she gets older, she wants Charles to take over the running of Buckingham Palace. Charles and the Queen are increasingly combining their offices, and the Queen’s most trusted courtiers have been leaving in a steady drove. There’s some talk of “royal chaos” or shambles at the palace, just as there’s talk that Charles and QEII are on the same page about the younger royals needing to pull their weight now more than ever. Well, in a new piece, Daily Mail contributor/royalist Robert Jobson claims that the Queen is moving ever closer to accepting a Charles regency. Some highlights:
She’s open to the idea of regency: With the Queen now into her 92nd year, and with the hard-working Duke of Edinburgh choosing to retire last month at the age of 96, plans are afoot which, if implemented, would see Charles appointed King in all but name. Palace sources have indicated that the Queen has told her inner circle that, if she is still on the throne at the age of 95, she will ask for a piece of legislation called the Regency Act to come into force – granting her eldest son full power to reign even while she still lives. I have spoken to a number of high-ranking courtiers who made it clear that preparations for a transition are moving ahead at pace. They have all confirmed that a Regency with Charles taking the lead is now, at the very least, a real possibility.
The courtiers are all a-buzz: One senior former member of the Royal Household said: ‘Out of the profound respect the Queen holds for the institution of monarchy and its stewardship, Her Majesty would want to make sure that she has done everything she can for her country and her people before she hands over. She is dutiful to her core. Her Majesty is mindful of her age and wants to make sure when the time comes, the transition of the Crown is seamless. I understand the Queen has given the matter considerable thought and believes that, if she is still alive at 95, she will seriously consider passing the reign to Charles.’
Charles isn’t saying anything officially: Clarence House – the household of Prince Charles – is making no comment about Plan Regency, as it has been called. However, it is understood to be a matter of increasingly open discussion at court. But Palace staff responsible for communications have been ordered to be ‘up to speed’ on the 1937 Regency Act, which grants power to the heir apparent ‘in the event of the incapacity of the Sovereign through illness, and for the performance of certain of the Royal functions in the name and on behalf of the Sovereign in certain other events’.
Transitioning the younger royals: Of course, the transition to a world in which significantly more Royal duties are undertaken by the younger generations is already well under way. Next month, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will step into their new roles as full-time working Royals, and Prince Harry will be expected to carry out more engagements at his grandmother’s side. ‘As ever, the Queen wants there to be the minimum of fuss,’ said the former member of the Royal Household. ‘Of course, for obvious reasons, abdication is not even a consideration.’
Interesting note about a regency coup: To safeguard against a coup, a Regent can only be installed once a decision is taken by at least three of the following: the Sovereign’s consort, in this case the Duke of Edinburgh; the Lord Chancellor, David Lidington; the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow; the Lord Chief Justice, the incoming Sir Ian Burnett; and Master of the Rolls, Sir Terence Etherton.
[From The Daily Mail]
The rest of the piece details all of the crazy staff shakeups happening at Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace, and there’s another note in there about how Charles is already acting as a shadow regent anyway, that he’s increasingly taking on more of his mother’s duties and traveling, etc. Part of me takes everything in here at face value: the Queen had a health scare over the Christmas holiday and she wants to ensure that everything is in order, and she wants her office and Charles’ office to be on the same page about everything. I think Clarence House and BP already are on the same page about most things. And I definitely think they’re on the same page regarding William, Kate and Harry. As in, the younger royals need to get off their royal arses and be truly keen about working.
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Source: Queen Elizabeth is making plans for Charles’ regency in three years’ time
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