Prince George, seven, is Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, 39, and Prince William’s eldest child and heir to the British throne. As things currently stand the young royal is third in the line of succession behind his grandfather Prince Charles, 72, and father William. While George is expected to take the crown from his father one day, his accession may never happen, a royal expert has claimed.
Why Prince George might never be king
At the tender age of seven, Prince George is likely decades away from taking the throne.
His grandfather Prince Charles is still waiting to become king at the age of 72 – making him the oldest heir apparent in British history.
And before Prince George can become king his father William will have to reign first.
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This means that three royal reigns will have to run their course before George can take the Crown.
Queen Elizabeth II, 94, is the longest-reigning monarch in British history and still shows no sign of stepping down.
Next year she is due to mark her Platinum Jubilee which will see her celebrate an astonishing 70 years as monarch.
In the time the Queen has been on the throne, British society has undergone huge shifts and a royal expert has claimed interest in the monarchy is waning.
Royal expert and author of The Last Queen: How Queen Elizabeth II Saved the Monarchy, Clive Irving has argued that the monarchy could be abolished entirely before George even gets close to taking the throne.
The expert told Express.co.uk: “Before you can assess how William, and later George, might work out, you have to allow for the way the monarchy will look under King Charles, and whether under him it can survive.”
Mr Irving argues that the current Queen, like her late father, is an exemplar ruler and that it is thanks to her that the monarchy has survived so long.
Reflecting on the “less able” British monarchs who preceded the Queen, Mr Irving said: “The Queen and her father, George VI, were exceptions in the Windsor line that followed Queen Victoria, the only ones to be exemplary in the role.”
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He claimed Prince Charles lacks his mother’s extraordinary ability to reign and said: “In my view Prince Charles is a reversion to the line of duds, falling far short of the standard set by his mother and grandfather.”
Mr Irving argues that Britons’ appetite for the monarchy is waning and claims it could be done away with before Prince George takes the throne.
The expert said: “All polling shows that younger Britons don’t find the monarchy relevant.
“What is salient to this attitude is the impression that the Windsors are too many, too many freeloaders and palace dwellers.”
Mr Irving added: “Together the royal family occupies 15 state residences paid for by public money at the cost of at least 82 million pounds a year – in contrast Denmark, for example, allots around nine million pounds to its royal family.
“A pared-down monarchy – fewer palaces, no freeloaders and attractively modern family heads – might make a re-boot work, but that’s impossible to judge right now.”
Despite rumours Prince Charles could forgo his time as king and hand the crown straight to his son William, he will automatically become monarch upon the Queen’s death.
Prince George’s siblings Charlotte and Louis are currently fourth and fifth in line to the throne after their big brother but will be pushed down the line of succession by any children George has in future.
