Life Of A Royal

It is no surprise to most of us how the royals live their lives. Queen Elizabeth has been in reign for almost 70 years and this is how it will be for the next few years of her life until she passes on. But the question is, what will happen next? Who’s next in line?

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When the queen passes away or abdicates her throne, her firstborn will be next in line – Prince Charles. This new transition will cause drastic changes, adjustment and upheaval. Also bring in issues with family, and you have a complete recipe for disaster just waiting in the wings.

History

Queen Elizabeth married Prince Philip when she was just 21 years old in 1947 and had Prince Charles just a year after that. He was the eldest of four children, so naturally, he will be next in line to the throne as Queen Elizabeth had been because she is the eldest.

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Many would expect that royals only know about their riches and their rules and have no thought for their people when they put up these said rules. However, there is more than what meets the eye. Fortunately for them, it’s not just about the jewels, the riches and the recognition.

Background And Experience

In Prince Charles’ case, he is more than just an heir to the throne or the ex-husband of the late Princess Diana. He is also not a slacker like most people would think. Prince Charles graduated from the prestigious University of Cambridge. Although, many people reckon that it’s only just because he is the prince.

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Aside from that, Charles had attended the UK Royal Air Force College and the Royal Naval College. He also completed a tour of duty as part of the Royal Navy. Right after that, he has been heavily immersing himself in charity work through his own organization called The Prince’s Trust. His philanthropic work focuses on helping children and adults who are having difficulties at school or finding work.

Private Life

Even if Charles buries himself in his royal duties as heir and with his charity organization, people usually tend to focus on areas where his weaknesses are. His private life is one such area where he has received and drawn so much criticism in the past years and has affected his reputation.

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Those who are fans or are avid spectators of the life of royals know for a fact that Charles isn’t all about his good deeds to the public. Everybody knows the affair he had with Camilla Parker-Bowles – who is now his wife – even during his marriage to Lady Diana Spencer.

Infidelity

Charles has always had his eyes set on Camilla and has so much love and adoration for her. However, because he has to get the nod of approval from the Queen, it became such a complicated situation. However, Camilla was allegedly deemed an unsuitable bride for him.

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Charles had no choice but to choose between possible candidates for him, those who the Queen liked. And in 1981, he married Diana. But it was not to say that he put a stop to his relations with Camilla. And as the media caught wind of this, the royal family had always been hounded by the press to get further information.

His Children

Even though Diana may not have been his first choice, he had to accept the fate he was given. However, it wasn’t a fairytale marriage. Just a few months after being wed, people could already see the cracks and the flaws happening. But people could not deny how he was also a proud parent.

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As an heir apparent to the throne, providing a next of kin is one of his duties. This is a sad reality. People had already realized that the marriage wasn’t a match made in heaven but he gave his all for his children, albeit his infidelity scandal.

William And Harry

Diana had never complained about all these scandals surrounding their marriage. Just a year after they wed, Diana had given birth to William and two years after, Harry was born. Even then, the media still went after his private life to uncover more details of his affair. Diana had just kept tight-lipped, but it may also be because the palace wanted her to.

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As William and Harry grew, Diana was protective of them and wanted to make sure that they lived normal lives as much as possible. Diana was also very hands-on and is always seen dropping the boys to school or taking them to theme parks. Because Diana wants to keep the boys grounded, she wanted to teach them what it meant for them to have a roof over their heads so she makes sure the boys are always present during a number of royal engagements including visits to homeless shelters.

Seeing Through The Cracks

Avid fans of the crown and the royal family have already begun to see what the real deal was between Charles and Diana. It was inevitable because for one, Diana was not Charles’ first choice and second, Diana was a force to be reckoned with, one that Charles was not used to.

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It wasn’t before long that the pair would split up despite the disagreement of the Queen as she is highly against the dissolution of marriage. Charles and Diana parted ways in 1992. But things would slowly take a turn for the worse and it was all for the public to see. The palace was appalled at the scandal that was unfolding right before their eyes.

Scandalous

Shortly after his divorce with Diana, things were slowly starting to unravel. Because Camilla’s plans to wed with Charles had fallen through, she got married to another but it was soon revealed that even after getting married to spouses of their own, they still continued with the affair.

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But it was not to say that Diana was completely innocent throughout this whole charade. It was said that she, too, had an affair with a British Army Officer named James Hewitt. To this day, people still talk about the possibility of James being Harry’s father because of Harry’s appearance. But if you think about it, Harry was already a baby when Diana supposedly started seeing James.

Tragic Loss

Charles’ divorce with Diana had become such a mess that everywhere they go, tragedy always waited around the corner. The smallest of things would cause issues and it constantly haunted the palace and the royal family. It was not looking good for all of the people involved.

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But the thing that people had not expected was the tragedy that happened back in 1997. William and Harry lost their mother on August 31 of that year due to a car accident in Paris. When the news broke, the media went into a frenzy and the people mourned. Charles traveled to France to transport her body back to the UK even though they had only divorced the year prior.

Weathering The Storm

Everybody was keeping a close eye on Charles and the rest of the royal family as Diana’s body was transported back to the UK. The loss of the princess was felt all over the world and needless to say, Charles had to bear the burden of it all, especially the backlash.

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The general public was grieving the loss and it was the first time in all of history that the public seemed to care deeply about a death within the royal family. Charles was partly being blamed for it because had he not divorced Diana, she would not have been in Paris in the first place.

Unseen And Waiting

Despite the backlash that was surrounding the royal family and Charles in particular, he kept mum and put his head down. Most probably because this was what the royal advisors had told him to do to avoid fueling the fire that was already present.

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However, it wasn’t until two years after that he decided that it was time for the world to know what he was up to. In 1999, Charles appeared in public with Camilla to attend a birthday bash at London’s Ritz Hotel. In early 2005, they confirmed their engagement and later on married in April of that year.

More Than The Scandals

Sometimes, when you’re under the scrutiny of the general public, your mistakes and flaws are a hundred times more interesting than the actual good deeds that you do. Unfortunately for Charles, this is what happened to him. People oversee the good he does because his past was a big issue then and people rarely forget.

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But true fans of the royals know that he isn’t what the public knows him to be. He goes on to do his philanthropic work silently and carries out his duties as heir apparent on behalf of the royal family and the Commonwealth. He has also helped create charities that focus on the environment, youth and education.

Topic Of Divorce

Because Queen Elizabeth spearheads the Church of England, she is heavily against the concept of divorce. What this means is that, the royal family in general treads the idea of a marriage’s dissolution very lightly compared to a regular person.

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So as you would expect, when Charles married Camilla back in 2005, she did not attend the religious part of the ceremony and waited it out until the reception. It was not an easy feat as naturally, as a parent, you would still want to honor your child’s wishes and a wedding is an integral part of their life. However, as sources would say, a friend later on revealed that Queen Elizabeth felt that her duty to the church must come first.

Start Of Change

So when gossip started to come out regarding Harry’s connection with Meghan Markle, the Queen already saw what was coming. So people started to question what she was going to do when the time came that the couple would be exchanging vows.

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Meghan was a divorcee. She was once married to a producer named Trevor Engelson in 2011 but they later on separated in August of 2013. So when Harry announced his engagement to Meghan, questions arose on the sanctity of their future marriage and it came to a point of bringing up Meghan’s past.

Change Of Heart

When the people saw the Queen in attendance during Harry and Meghan’s wedding, they were amazed at how she has changed her mind regarding the rules she was supposed to follow. Of course, eventually, she will have regretted that decision to do so.

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Grant Harrold, the royal butler, told The Daily Express that around the time Harry and Meghan wed, “Prince Charles’ wedding was 13 years ago, [and] times have changed. It could be a change of heart… You have the unfortunate Edward and Wallace Simpson episode, and 70 years later nobody blinks an eyelid.” So what this only means that the palace has slowly adapted to the changes happening, and the Queen’s attendance to the wedding was a step in the right direction.

Heirarchy

Queen Elizabeth’s father was King George VI. She is the eldest and therefore, made her the heir apparent when her father ruled. She was married at an early age to Philip. At the time of King George’s passing, she was in Kenya with her husband doing a tour. So she was not prepared at all, to say the least.

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She took to the throne at the age of 25. Charles was only three years old at the time, but this then automatically made him the heir apparent since the Queen had ascended to her role. Queen Elizabeth is the longest reigning monarch in all of British history which also makes Charles the longest serving heir.

Longest Serving Heir

Charles will turn 73 years old this year, which makes him the oldest heir apparent to the throne. But who’s to say how much longer he will have to wait until his turn. Queen Elizabeth, though despite her age, is far from frail and she still has a long ways to go.

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But in the event of the Queen’s passing, he will be crowned King and he will also be named the oldest monarch to be crowned in all of Britain’s royal family history. The record was previously held by William IV, who was almost 65 years old when he assumed the role some time in 1830.

People’s Choice

Because of Charles’ age, many people believe that this could be a deciding factor in Charles’ part that he could abdicate the throne in favor of his son, William. And many others are agreeing with this hypothesis – as far as some of the British public is concerned.

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There was a survey that was conducted a few years back and it found that almost fifty percent of Britons would actually prefer to see William on the throne than Charles. And it most probably would have increased after the Oprah interview last March.

Soon To Be King

As far as Charles is concerned? He has every intention to take over the throne when the time comes. We do not know yet what the real deal is, but the Queen might also be preparing him for when he does assume the role in the future.

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When it’s time, Charles will immediately become king and will likely make a statement addressing the general public, whole world included, about his mother’s death. In 2018, Royal Central editor Charlie Proctor revealed that plans are actually underway for this transition. “As per tradition, when Prince Charles does take to the throne, William and Kate will become the Prince and Princess of Wales, meaning he will take on additional duties to assist the monarch,” he told the Daily Star. “Just like Prince Charles is preparing to become king, William is already preparing to become Prince of Wales ready for the duties and responsibilities he will have to take on.”