Speculations as to who would succeed Queen Elizabeth II are getting more intense as the monarch is getting older. The Queen is turning 94 in April and many are speculating that she will eventually abdicate so her son, Prince Charles, could rule. However, there are also speculations that the Queen's second child and only daughter, Princess Anne, is fighting her brother for the throne.
Woman's Day published a cover story that claimed there is a brewing tension between Charles and Anne on who will succeed their mother. The tabloid claimed Queen Elizabeth II is favoring the Princess Royal to be her successor and the two got closer in the past few years.
The Queen allegedly realized that the monarchy would be better off if Anne will take the throne and rule the monarch than her older son, Charles. The outlet cited a palace courtier who claimed Charles realized last year that his position as the heir apparent is not secured. Since then, the Prince of Wales is allegedly on a campaign to prove to everyone, especially to his mother, that he is fit to be the king.
"Anne's extremely competitive, and there's no doubt she'll take any chance she gets to leapfrog her brother... Charles has a real popularity contest on his hands, and he's not certain his family is in his corner," the source claimed.
Currently, Queen Elizabeth II is the sovereign. Her heir apparent or the next to inherit the throne is Charles. Second in line after the Prince of Wales is his eldest son, Prince William.
The next in line are the Duke of Cambridge's children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis in third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively. Sixth in line is William's brother, Prince Harry. Princess Anne is currently in 14th in line for the crown.
Though Princess Anne has indeed become more popular in the past years, Gossip Cop debunked all claims of the alleged palace courier. The publication stressed that under British law, the Queen doesn't have the power to choose her successor. The succession to the British throne is determined by the number of laws that relate to the subject, and popularity is not one of those.
This means even though the Queen favors Princess Anne, Prince Charles would still be the next king unless he dies before he takes the throne or he chooses to step aside. If the latter happens, the Parliament would still need to approve Charles' abdication before Prince William ascends to the throne.
According to the Telegraph, Charles and Anne are two of the hardest-working royals last year. Charles attended 521 royal engagements last year, while Anne did 506. However, Anne has outdone her brother in 2017 and in 2018.
