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Who will become the next King of England?

There is talk about Prince Charles being passed over in favor of Prince William. Is this true?

Speaking of astrology, I thought I read somewhere that Charles will not be king. And very soon, the monarchy will be abolished entirely.

As for the Queen...Long live the Queen!

...still?

There was speculation after it became clear in England that Charles had a mistress - Mrs Parker Bowles - and had from the start of his marriage to Diana, that the English public would never accept him as King, and after Diana's death, would certainly not accept Camilla as his queen.

However there is no constitutional grounds for this, and historically English kings had mistresses. Henry VIII famously chopped one of his wives' heads off when he wanted to exchange her for yet another model - and she was his mistress to begin with - ie Anne Boleyn.

OK - I know times have changed but Camilla's ancestor - her great gran I think - was Edward VII's mistress, her name was Alice Keppel, and unlike Camilla's public reception when it was known she was Charles' mistress, in Edwardian times (the early 1900s) Mrs Keppel was a national favourite - she was called 'La Favorita'.

The British public now seems to have taken Camilla to their heart's - I think they feel that as she is - and always was - Charles' true love, then it may be better if the royal families make love matches, not arranged matches - as was his match with Diana Spencer, who was young, fertile, of aristocratic lineage, and a virgin.

Now we have seen that those rules no longer apply - as Catherine Middleton will be Queen of England, (hers is a love match with William, they have been together for ten years (with a little break) and she is not from a noble family). Though not, I imagine, before Camilla holds the title of Queen.

Unless Charles chooses not too, or he dies before his mother, his waiting will be over and he will be crowned King of England - it would be odd if he were not.

I hope they pass over Charles - did not appreciate how he and his now wife treated Diana. I love the fact that the kids are living their lives their way and hopefully stay true to their ladies. Hey, cheating sometimes run in families Hope more of Diana is in the boys and not Charles. Camilla was UGLY and getting uglier by the minute. Sorry, but never liked her. Miss Diana...

The boys seem to have inherited the 'common' touch - the ability to reach out in a genuine way to ordinary and also to disadvantaged people.

Charles was very much guided by his parents in marrying Diana - and that generation's influence will soon be gone for good. The Duke of Edinburgh has also been accused of 'playing away', incidentally .

Though marrying for love is no guarantee of the longevity of a marriage - Princess Anne divorced Mark Phillips and Prince Edward divorced Sarah Ferguson. Hopefully after 10 years of partnership William and Kate will be a good fit - it would be nice to see ANY famous couple 'make it' in marriage.

As long as Charles has done his duties I don't think the queen would insult him by not making him king unless he chooses not to be king. I'd rather seen his son, being a real human being become king. Abolishing the monarchy would save millions if not billions, good idea, but don't see it happening soon.

I bet it was, I can't even imagine it. Nothing drastic changes in the states, a new president, a new game plan that is about it. Politicians can't make a new budget because they are afraid of not being reelected but college students came up with a perfect budget to get the country out of the hole. (AARP mag) I would be interested in learning what it was like living under British rule, the highlights. I heard a rumor that is why this country was formed, to get out of their paws!

It is very "regimented" - everything has to go by tradition. I was a child back then, I am now 52. But from what I can remember, they had so many folks with titles it was ridiculous. And the queen would be running things from England (lol). Everything, and I mean everything had to be OKAYED by her. Too much power that lady has and that has been causing problems. England has to come out of the "dark ages" and let changes come into the country. Now I do love the fanfare - the carriages and the dresses and so on. But the traditions need to be updated - the younger generation is not going to stand for it much longer. Personally, I have always had an issue with too much "control" and under the British ruling caused our island to lose our identity which thank goodness was regained with our independence. A few islands are still under her thumb and it is so sad as it is like "island Britain" instead of the "island"(lol). While in school I was taught British History, now they are teaching Jamaican History which was needed in order to not lose our culture and past. Oh, girl, the pounds - shillings - pence was a royal (get my wording/lol) pain. Now we have Jamaican dollars and cents like the United States.

Shirley it sounds more like Jamaican dollars and sense! Jamaica has such a rich history. Even under British rule it should have been in the classroom. I think when the queen is gone, (hmm wonder what vitamins she takes I personally think she has been mummified alive. There will be a lot of changes.

Francine you may not be a royalist, but you do know a lot about the royal family! The royalists I know/have known tend to be older - I wonder if it's a generational thing, whether the pageantry of royalty was paritcularly valued by those who had/have had experience of the first or second world wars.

Your comments about France are intersting. I've just finished reading a book called Pastwatch by Orson Scott Card where people from the future change the course of history by going back to Columbus's time and helping him integrate with the peoples he finds on his voyages of discovery. Fascinating book - Card has an awesome grasp of politics and history.

Now the SNP are in power in Scotland there is talk of a referendum for Scottish independence. It will be interesting to see, if this succeeds, whether it changes the relationship of the Royal Family with Scotland. The Royal Family regularly visit Scotland and the royal residence Balmoral is in Aberdeenshire. The Castle of May, in the far north of Scotland, was visited regularly by the Queen Mother.

Good point about the Royal Family generating a large amount of money for England through tourism. This is often forgotten when people talk about the amount of taxpayers money spent on the Royals.

I do not have the slightest interest in the Royal Family. They are just a tourist attraction now.

Queen Elizabeth II doesn't have any of the power Queen Elizabeth I had. This queen only opens parliament once a year and she does not have a say in how the country is run. If she does then she needs to sort out the health service and over run schools.

Prince Charles will get the crown after the Queen's death, but he will never be one of the longest reigning monarchs as his mother is today.

Queen Elizabeth II is the second longest reigning monarch in the UK.

06.02.1952 - 30.05.2011 (to date - 59 years, 25 days).

Queen Victoria was the longest reigning monarch in the UK.

20.06.1837 - 22.01.1901 (63 years, 216 days)