The tragic possibility that Prince George will need to step into the role of monarch sooner rather than later looms larger and larger, due to the maladies senior royals are currently suffering. But what would happen if the young prince became king before reaching adulthood?
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00:00The tragic possibility that Prince George will need to step into the role of monarch
00:05sooner rather than later looms larger and larger. Due to the maladies,
00:09senior royals are currently suffering. But what would happen if the young prince
00:13became king before reaching adulthood?
00:16The notion of having a child take on the role of a monarch seems ridiculous in this day and age.
00:21Of course, in the past, things worked a little differently, and child monarchs did exist on
00:25rare occasions. The most notable of the child kings was Scotland's King James VI
00:31before the crowns of Scotland and England were merged. He became king when he was only 13 months
00:36old. So what happens when a child ascends the throne? Well, in Prince George's case,
00:41he would be known as the King of England, but he wouldn't undertake any official royal duties.
00:46Instead, one of the senior members of the royal family will become the regent
00:50and shoulder the monarch's responsibilities on his behalf.
00:54Hopefully, this isn't a scenario in which the British monarchy will ever find itself.
00:58Regardless, royal author Robert Hardman told The Mirror that Prince William and Princess
01:03Catherine are doing everything in their power to equip George for his future role.
01:08Palace veterans have said that, despite George being prepped for his future role as king,
01:13his parents would like to delay his official duties until he's, quote,
01:16well into his twenties.
01:19The Regency Act was established by the British Parliament in 1937,
01:23and a monarch ascending the throne before the age of 18 is just one of the scenarios it addresses.
01:29Other instances covered under the Regency Act are when the monarch becomes unable to
01:33fulfill their duties due to illness or other limitations, or when they are abroad for an
01:37extended period of time. The most prominent regency occurred in the 19th century when
01:42King George III was declared incapable of fulfilling his royal duties due to his declining
01:48mental health. In George III's case, his son became prince regent and only ascended the
01:53throne when his father died. Funny enough, he was also named George.
01:57Too many, too many, too many, too many!
01:59While regents hold plenty of power, there are some things they cannot do,
02:03such as alter the line of succession. The regency usually falls to the person who is
02:07next in line to the throne, given they're 21 or older. This means if George becomes king
02:12before the age of 18, his younger siblings can't become regent, and the role will fall
02:17to one of the other senior members of the royal family.
02:21If Prince George becomes king before he turns 18, the Regency Act would dictate that the person in
02:26line to become regent would be Prince Harry. However, as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
02:31abruptly left the royal family in 2020, that adds some serious complication to the royal
02:36procedures in this situation. Even though Harry would be regent, the Regency Act stipulates that
02:42the prince must be domiciled in the United Kingdom to take on this role. Domicile refers
02:47to a person's permanent residence, so even though Harry is currently living in the United States,
02:52his domicile remains the U.K., unless he becomes a permanent U.S. resident.
02:57Notably, in April 2024, Harry did send paperwork to the palace stating that he is, quote,
03:03"...usually resident in the U.S." However, immigration experts told the Mirror that
03:08usually resident doesn't mean the prince has been granted permanent residence in the states.
03:13This technically means that Harry could still become regent if he returned home. If not,
03:18the Regency would fall to Prince Andrew, whose controversial friendship with convicted sex
03:22offender Jeffrey Epstein makes him a less-than-favorable choice as well.
03:27When King Charles III became the new monarch, he petitioned Parliament to amend the Regency Act
03:33to allow other members of the royal family to step in as counselors of state should he become
03:37temporarily incapacitated. To be clear, counselors of state and regents aren't the same thing.
03:43A regent is appointed when the monarch is underage or becomes permanently incapacitated.
03:49The Regency Act stipulates that only those down the line of succession
03:52can step into the role of regent. Counselors of state, however, are appointed when the monarch
03:57is temporarily incapacitated, and they don't necessarily need to be potential successors
04:02to the throne. Previously, the role of counselors of state would have fallen to Prince Andrew or
04:07Prince Harry. With the amended act, however, the responsibility will fall first to Princess Anne
04:13and Prince Edward before Andrew and Harry are considered. This might mean that if Prince
04:18George becomes king before he turns 18, and Prince Harry becomes regent, but finds himself
04:23temporarily unable to fulfill his duties, Anne or Edward would step into their roles as counselors
04:28of state and temporarily run things in his absence. King personally requested the pair to
04:33be added to the list of those who can deputize for him after Princess Andrew and Harry stepped
04:38down as working royals. Many have posed the question of whether or not Princess Catherine
04:43would be allowed to step in as regent should Prince George become king before he comes of age.
04:48Unlike many of the details regarding this situation, the answer here is a definite no
04:53unless the Regency Act is significantly amended in the near future. While Catherine is the queen
04:58in waiting, she is not a direct descendant of the royal family, which means the Regency Act
05:03excludes her completely. There's a whole slew of royal family members in the line of succession
05:08who can step up as regent should Prince Harry decide not to return to help out the family.
05:13Still, many of these royals aren't even working members of the monarchy,
05:17and Catherine would likely have a lot more experience running things than they do.
05:21Many seem to have considered this, with Politico speculating whether or not Parliament might amend
05:26the Regency Act to include Catherine as a possible regent should tragedy strike. This, of course,
05:31cannot be ruled out completely, seeing as Parliament amended the Act to accommodate
05:35King Charles III's choice of councillors of state. Regent or not, Catherine would remain
05:40a member of the monarchy if something happened to Prince William. She would most likely continue
05:44to support Prince George and prepare him for his duties as monarch and continue to play a key role
05:50in the kind of king he becomes.
05:52When the time comes for Prince George to ascend the throne, he'll be ready. At least,
05:56that's what Hardman told People. According to Hardman, George's childhood is very different
06:01from his grandfather's, as he is being eased into the idea of one day becoming the monarch
06:06instead of simply being told his destiny. According to the royal author, William and
06:11Catherine want to make sure George doesn't find the prospect of becoming king scary.
06:15In his book Charles III, New King, New Court, the author claims that Prince William is taking
06:20his responsibility of raising the future king seriously and works hard to give George the
06:25training he needs to be prepared to take on the crown. That is, of course, if George decides he
06:30wants it. While abdication is likely considered a dirty word in the royal family's vocabulary,
06:35Prince George could decide to forfeit the crown when it passes to him.
06:39This is certainly not an ancient tradition. As Queen Elizabeth II's uncle, King Edward VIII,
06:45abdicated the throne in 1936 and was succeeded by his brother. Thus, the possibility remains
06:51that George might not want to be part of all the pomp and circumstance the monarchy brings.
06:56If he chooses to step back from his role to lead a quieter life like his Uncle Harry,
07:00he would have the freedom to do so, and the crown would pass to his sister, Princess Charlotte.