Is there a chance for Queen Elizabeth to name Prince William and Kate Middleton as the new King and Queen of England and bypass Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall? Curious fans are wondering if Her Majesty has the power to change the line of succession.
Royal fans discussed on Quora whether Queen Elizabeth could name her grandson Prince William as her successor instead of her son Prince Charles. It likely became a hot topic because Prince William and Duchess Kate are much more popular in public than the older royals.
One commenter, however, said that it is not in Queen Elizabeth's power to name who shall take the throne after her. Instead, it will take an act of Parliament to change the line of succession.
This has been legally in place by the Parliament since the establishment of 1701 Act of Settlement. This old law requires that the next monarch of England must be a direct heir and a Protestant, and Prince Charles fits the qualifications perfectly.
Prince Charles has been regarded as Queen Elizabeth's successor since the day he was born. Thus, he is the most qualified to be the next King of England since he has been preparing for this role for all of his life.
Not even his affair and second marriage to Camilla could wreck his chances of becoming the next monarch. While the Church of England has strict rules about divorces, especially for the heir to the throne, changes were made in 2002 to allow the future rulers of England to reign despite being married more than once.
Meanwhile, Prince William has never expressed any desire to steal the throne or bypass his father from becoming the king. Instead, the Duke of Cambridge has had conversations about inheriting his father's current role as the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall.
When Prince Charles becomes King, Prince William will bear all these titles and the privilege that goes with it, per People. In the documentary Prince Charles: Inside The Duchy of Cornwall, Prince William said that he will not "rock the boat" and make extreme changes to what he will inherit from his father.
Changing so little of the Duchy of Cornwall might be a grand idea. After all, in his more than 50 years as the head of Cornwall, Prince Charles made this into a lucrative $27-million a year farmland and a business empire in London.
