Watching Prince Charles with other dignitaries at the abdication of the Netherlands’ Queen Beatrix, it was natural to wonder about the intentions of the prince’s own mother.
Last week, the Dutch queen stepped aside after 33 years in favour of her son, Willem-Alexander, who becomes the first king of the Netherlands in more than a century. Monarchs rarely set down their crowns willingly, but speculation about Queen Elizabeth has been rife for years.
The Queen has reigned since 1952, making her the second-longest reigning British monarch after Queen Victoria.
Although as constitutional monarch she gives away little of her own thoughts and feelings, she is known to take her coronation oath seriously. Every action of her reign bespeaks a person who puts duty above everything else. It is hard to imagine her laying aside that responsibility while she still has the capacity to carry out her duties.
When someone takes up the Crown, they are expected to wear it until they die. The Queen was able to succeed to the throne only because her father became king when Edward VIII scandalously abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson. That experience so traumatized the family that the word “abdication” must be anathema.
The Queen’s role models are her father, who assumed the throne unwillingly and led his country through the Second World War, and her always-popular mother, who continued her public role past the age of 100. Neither was a quitter.
And the Queen would be less than human if her thoughts did not stray occasionally to September of 2015, when she would surpass Queen Victoria’s record as the longest-reigning monarch.
Charles, who is now 64, has been preparing all his life to become king. If he succeeds now, he would be starting his long-intended career at the age when most people expect to retire.
As far as it’s possible to divine the intentions of our reigning sovereign, it’s likely Prince Charles will have to wait a few years more.
