KQueen Elizabeth II is dead. The monarch died peacefully at her Scottish country estate, Balmoral Castle, at the age of 96, the palace announced on Thursday evening. Her eldest son Charles (73) will now ascend the throne after decades of waiting. “We are in deep mourning for a cherished sovereign and a well-loved mother,” said the new King Charles III. With
Behind his father Charles, Queen’s grandson Prince William (40) is heir to the throne. Number two in line to the throne is now 9-year-old Prince George. His siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have overtaken their uncle Harry in the line of succession. Princes no longer precede princesses in the line of succession to the Windsors. This puts William’s younger brother in fifth place. Prince Harry’s son Archie is sixth, daughter Lilibet is number seven.
The process that is set in motion after the death of the Queen follows a previously firmly regulated process: First, the British Prime Minister Liz Truss was informed of the death of the monarch with the sentence “London Bridge is down”. This is followed by a precisely regulated procedure codenamed “Operation London Bridge” and which regulates the order in which who is informed.
Image: dpa
According to the plan for “Operation London Bridge”, a special body, the Accession Council, is to meet the morning after the Queen’s death and declare heir apparent Prince Charles as the new king. The Queen’s eldest son has announced that he will take the name Charles III as King. will lead. The proclamation is delivered by the senior herald, the Garter King of Arms. Half a dozen heralds then travel by carriage to Trafalgar Square and then to the Stock Exchange to read out the message.
William (40) and his wife Kate (40) have also received new titles. They are now called the “Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge,” Kensington Palace confirmed on Thursday. As the eldest son of Charles, William received the title “Duke of Cornwall”. If William also gets the title ‘Prince of Wales’ as expected, Kate will become ‘Princess of Wales’, the British news agency PA explains. Diana last wore this title.
