Due to the king's illness, the question has become relevant before its time - and if something goes wrong with the number one successor, all hell will break loose.
Buckingham Palace announced this week that III. British King Charles was diagnosed with cancer during his treatment for an enlarged prostate, so the crown prince has been undergoing treatment since yesterday and has retired from public appearances.
The royal court did not share more information about the disease, so in addition to the fact that III. Károly is optimistic about the treatments and expects to be able to return to public service soon, it is not known how much to worry about the monarch. Therefore, the question has become relevant again:
who can succeed him on the throne III. Károlyt, if the worst happens?
According to the order of succession of the British royal house, on September 8, 2022, II. He ascended the throne after the death of Queen Elizabeth, and was crowned on May 6, 2023
III. The successor of King Charles would be his son, William, Prince of Wales, born in 1982.
However, if for any reason Prince William could not ascend to the throne, a huge mess would begin in the United Kingdom - because every potential successor after Prince William is in a bit of trouble.
The second, third and fourth places in the line of succession are occupied by Prince William's three children, Prince George, Princess Sarolta and Prince Louis. However, they are still minors, born in 2013, 2015 and 2018, so the Regency Act of 1937 would come into effect in their case:
if the throne is inherited by a minor, the first member of the line of succession who is over 21 years old and resides in the United Kingdom rules as regent until he comes of age.
Both clauses are important - in this case, the next member of the line of succession over the age of 21 would be Duke Henrik of Sussex, the younger son of Károly, William's brother. He, on the other hand, requested an exemption from his duties in the royal family in 2020 and moved his headquarters to the United States together with his spouse, actress Meghan Markle. It is unclear whether this latter factor disqualifies him from the office of regent, or whether he would be willing to rule at all if even duke duties proved to be an unbearable mental burden for him.
Henrik would be followed in the line of succession by his two children, Archie and Lilibet, in the case of whom it is also not entirely clear whether they remained in the line of succession at all. But if so, the regency law would still apply and the next potential heir over the age of 21 would rule until they come of age.
He would be Prince András of York, II. The second-born son of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip - who was involved in Jeffrey Epstein's pedophile scandals, according to press reports Epstein also had sex videos of him.
Since the scandal, he has disappeared from the public eye, so it is highly questionable whether the family would allow him to ascend the throne.
So, in the event that something were to happen to Prince Vilmos, the next sure point in the line of succession would be the ninth heir to the throne, Princess Beatrix of York, the first-born daughter of Prince András and Princess Sarah, born in 1988 - and until her ascension to the throne, through a complicated royal soap opera would lead the way.
Featured image: MTI/EPA/Neil Hall
