WILLIAM'S MODERN MONARCHY

The future looks bright as the prince wants royalty to survive and thrive

If you’ve found it hard since the Queen died to get your head around the fact that we now have a male monarch, you’re not alone. After 70 record-breaking years of Elizabeth II as sovereign, it still seems a little strange to be talking about the King, and referring to His Majesty.

But we’ll need to get used to it as all the monarchs for the foreseeable future will be men.

Next in line to accede to the throne after Charles III is his eldest son Prince William. Following a tradition that goes back to 1301, as heir apparent to the throne, he was given the title Prince of Wales by the Monarch (his dad). The title was bestowed on September 9 last year, the day after the Queen died and Charles became King. William is yet to be invested as Prince of Wales in a formal ceremony – his father’s coronation is of greater importance and takes precedence.

Charles had to wait 11 years before his investiture. He was actually given the title in 1958 at the age of nine, but the formal ceremony at Caernarfon Castle in Wales didn’t take place until 1969, when he was 20.

Given that William is already 40, his father may feel it’s best to get on with the investiture sooner rather than later.

William is likely to be younger than his father was when he takes over the throne, but if Charles follows in the footsteps of his parents, who both lived well into their nineties, his son could be in his sixties by the time he becomes king.