The Queen's Hand Over Charles Finally Fulfils His Destiny

At Long Last, Charles Is (Almost) In Charge!

- Tony Powell

At a charity reception a few years ago, Prince Charles was asked if he’s an impatient man. “Impatient? Me? What a thing to suggest!” he replied, smiling broadly. “Yes, of course I am. I’ll run out of time soon. I shall have snuffed it if I’m not careful.”

It’s easy to assume the Prince of Wales is likely to be king sooner rather than later, especially as he’s the longest-lived heir apparent in the entire history of the Commonwealth and UK. But for him to become king, his beloved mother must die, so the subject is banned in his offices at Clarence House.

Even so, Buckingham Palace plans for every eventuality – and that includes the Queen’s death or incapacity.

In December 2016, when the Queen was ill, courtiers began to look seriously at the prospect of a regency: the Queen would still be monarch, but Prince Charles would carry out her work in her name.

“At the time, the official line was that Her Majesty had a heavy cold,” says one former aide. “In fact, it was much more serious than that.”

Planning for the transition from Queen Elizabeth to King Charles (assuming that’s the name he chooses) was masterminded by the Queen’s former personal secretary, Lord Christopher Geidt, who has no less than three knighthoods.

The citation for his second, when he became a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB), explains that the honour was for “a new approach to constitutional matters [and] the preparation for the transition to a change of reign”.

Now there is a buzz that the Queen will hand over to her son in a couple of years, when she is 95. She would retain her title, but Charles would take on most of her duties.