King Charles III doesn’t share with his late mother Queen Elizabeth II the same attitude towards the possibility of an abdication, an expert believes.
The House of Windsor changed forever in December 1936, when King Edward VIII announced he would abdicate to be able to marry US socialite Wallis Simpson.
This move made Queen Elizabeth II’s father, then the Duke of York, the new sovereign and his eldest daughter the heir apparent.
Years after this abdication, which sparked a constitutional crisis in the UK, the then Princess Elizabeth pledged in a speech delivered on her 21st birthday she would serve her country and the Commonwealth for her whole life.
Royal expert Richard Kay believes the concept of abdication was thrown upon throughout the record-breaking reign of Queen Elizabeth II due to how scarring her uncle’s move had been to her loved ones.
But since King Charles didn’t live through the turmoil caused by Edward VIII, he may feel less harshly towards the possibility of handing over the crown to his eldest son Prince William in a few years.
Appearing on the Mail+’s royal programme Palace Confidential, Mr Kay said: “[Abdication] was a dirty word through all those years when Queen Elizabeth II was on the throne because of her direct relationship to what happened in 1936, the abdication of her uncle and how it affected her father and mother. It was a shadow in the background throughout her reign.
“Charles is one generation removed from that, I don’t think he has the same attitude.”
In his first speech as King in September 2022, Charles III reminded the country of his mother’s pledge made on her 21st birthday, adding: “That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today.”
Nevertheless, Mr Kay, the Daily Mail’s editor at large, believes the King is more “realistic” about what he can do and the “limits that the body might have on him in future years”.
He added: “I think it is quite possible that at a certain date he might decide to stand down if it’s in the interest of the long-term of the monarchy.”
Discussions about the possibility of seeing an English monarch embracing the prospect of abdication came after Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II announced on New Year’s Eve that she would step down as monarch.
The last reigning queen in Europe will bow out on January 14, passing down the crown to her son Crown Prince Frederik.
Queen Margrethe, who shared a warm relationship with the late Queen Elizabeth II, mentioned her health as part of what brought her to decide to step down. Last year, she underwent a major back surgery.
