With the sad death of Queen Elizabeth II, the next generation of the Royal Family comes into focus, with the new King, Charles III, a new Prince of Wales in William, and a new Duke of Sussex in Harry. But the Royal Family is always looking towards the future, so there is already discussion of the roles of the following generation, a generation who may have to cope with a different world and a new outlook on the role and the size of the monarchy. We look at the next generation of royals who in the future may top the succession list and become King or Queen of the UK and the Commonwealth.
Prince George
Following the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II, the eldest son of Prince William and Duchess Kate, Prince George, has taken his father’s place as second in line to become the next British monarch. The nine-year-old, born in July 2013, was initially third in line to the throne. Prince George, now recently starting year five at his new school, Lambrook School, alongside his sister Princess Charlotte, is believed to have already put his foot down, warning his fellow school mates of the potential power he holds! Vanity Fair’s royal correspondent, Katie Nicholl, in her book The New Royals states: “George understands he will one day be king and as a little boy sparred with friends at school, outdoing his peers with the killer line: ‘My dad will be king so you better watch out’.” This evidently shows Prince George is certainly aware of who he is and the role in the royal family he will inherit in the future.
Princess Charlotte
Princess Charlotte, full name Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, currently sits behind her brother at third in line to the throne. Born in May 2015, she’s the second child and only daughter of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Despite everyone knowing her as Princess Charlotte, she has adopted the nickname of ‘Lottie’ which she is often referred to at home by her parents. Princess Charlotte is apparently a very active child who loves to try out different sports. During her parents’ tour of Ireland in March 2020, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kate said: “Charlotte is really into gymnastics, she’s doing cartwheels, handstands, everything. It’s so good for their basic skills of balance and coordination.”
Prince Louis
The youngest of Prince William and Princess Kate’s children is Prince Louis, full name Louis Arthur Charles. The four-year-old, born on St George’s Day, is currently fourth in line to the throne behind his older brother and sister. His name has royal family connections as it is one of his father’s middle names as well as being linked to his great-grandfather Prince Philip’s uncle. One of his best moments as a royal so far has come during this year’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Despite it supposed to be being Queen Elizabeth II’s special occasion, you could say that Prince Louis stole the show as he captured the heart of the nation with his various antics. For example, when the 70 aircraft flypast occurred over Buckingham Palace in front of the family, he was the centre of attention as he was seen waving and pulling all sorts of facial expressions amusing the hundreds of thousands that came to see them outside the palace. While Prince George and Princess Charlotte were on their best behaviour, Prince Louis clearly had other ideas.
Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor
We now move over to the children of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. First up is Archie who was welcomed into the world in May 2019 and currently sits sixth in line to the throne. He is the first half-American, bi-racial royal child and has the citizenship of both the United Kingdom and the United States of America. As his father is King Charles III’s youngest son, Archie is not regarded as a British prince, nor can he be labelled with the style “Royal Highness”, as his parents have decided against providing him a royal title as their wish is to raise him as a private citizen. The three-year-old, however, holds the right to have his father’s Earl of Dumbarton subsidiary title and become Lord Archie, The Earl of Dumbarton.
Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor
Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s second child was born in June 2021 in the United States and currently lies seventh in line to the throne. She is known as Lili by her parents and her name pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II’s childhood nickname and Prince Harry’s late mother, Diana. Just a year old, she is the youngest child out of all the children between Prince William and Prince Harry.
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