How does Prince Charles become king if he is divorced?

Question

I thought that there couldn't be a divorced person in the monarchy. How is Prince Charles in line to become King then? And will Camilla become queen?

Answer 1

Where did you get that idea?



Of course he can! And will.

Answer 2

Charles King Of England

Answer 3

Six answers and none has hit the point yet - and this question has been asked endlessly in the past few weeks. The answer is to do with the changing views of the Church of England. One result of King Henry VIII declaring independence from the pope is that the British monarch is Supreme Governor of the Church of England. In 1936, it still held the view that divorce is impossible and that it would not perform remarriages of the divorced. For the church's own Supreme Governor to have been married to a divorced woman would have put him and the church in an impossible position. Truth be told, "the establishment" wanted King Edward VIII off the throne anyway - he was a Nazi sympathiser, a playboy, a womaniser, totally uninterested in the duties of being king, and left secret papers lying around. The fact that Wallis Simpson was divorced did Britain a huge favour. So he abdicated and then married her. The Church of England has revised its views since and in 2002, decided that it would permit remarriage of the divorced in church, and issued guidelines for priests as to when this is appropriate. Any priest who doesn't agree with this is free to turn down remarriages of the divorced, but anyway - it is no longer banned. So Charles and Camilla were perfectly free to marry in church and it is no longer a bar to the throne. Though in fact they didn't - the Queen's view is rather more traditionalist and she would not have come to the wedding if it had been in church. So they had a civil wedding and a service of blessing afterwards, which the Queen did go to. The fact that Charles is divorced was never a problem - he was a widower as Diana had died 8 years before the wedding. The phrase used is of having "a former spouse still living", which he didn't.

Answer 4

There is no law about this. The fly in the ointment is that the British monarch has to be Supreme Governor of the Church of England. When the same question came up with King Edward VIII, the Church of England at that time was totally against divorce, it had a total ban on remarriage of the divorced, and it would have looked ridiculous to have a King who had broken his church's own rules.



In fact Wallis Simpson did Britain a huge favour for providing the perfect excuse to force Edward off the throne. The real reason the government wanted that is that he was totally unsuitable to be king - he wasn't really interested in the job and was a Nazi sympathiser.



The C of E has changed its position now and allows its priests to perform remarriages of divorced people. Not all of them will do this, but it is permissible for those priests who don't believe in the traditional teaching to provide that service. Therefore now, there is no problem about a divorced person being King. In deference to the Queen's views, which remain on the traditional side, Charles and Camilla's wedding was a civil one in the Windsor register office and the Queen wasn't there, but the Archbishop of Canterbury was perfectly happy to do a service of blessing for them in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle afterwards - he's something of a theological liberal (when you can understand what he's saying, that is: he's very much an academic).



Camilla will most certainly be Queen. However, it was announced at the time of the wedding that out of respect for the late Princess Diana, and public feeling about it, she will be known then as HRH The Princess Consort and not HM Queen Camilla, in exactly the same way as she uses Charles's secondary title and is known as Duchess of Cornwall rather than Princess of Wales. She IS the Princess of Wales, but just doesn't use the title.



An interesting question is then what happens at his coronation service? Traditionally the King and Queen are crowned side by side. Queen Elizabeth II was crowned alone as her husband is not King, but technically Camilla will be Queen even if she doesn't use the title. This is totally unprecedented and I have no doubt that discussions are going on at the highest levels as to what to do about this.

Answer 5

There has never been any rule that the person who would otherwise be the heir to the throne was disqualified by being divorced.



The whole Edward VIII/Wallis Simpson problem was rather different. Back in the 1930s divorce was seen as inherently shameful and "divorcee" was, for the majority of people, a synonym for "woman no better than she should be". Even then there was no actual law that the King couldn't marry a divorcee (though, since this marriage could not take place in church, it would certainly have caused problems re the King's role as Head of the Church of England). But it was felt that the nation as a whole would revolt at the prospect of having an immoral woman as Queen Consort, and Britain would go republican in disgust.



These days of course divorce is socially acceptable and even the church has gone a long way towards accepting it.

Answer 6

There has never been an actual law prohibiting a divorced person from taking the throne. The kerfuffle that surrounded Wallis Simpson and, later, Princess Margaret's relationship with a divorced man was a matter of social mores at the time and the fact that the Church of England prohibited the remarriage of divorced people in the church. Since the monarch is supposed to be the "Defender of the Faith," it was thought that a person who couldn't be married in the church could hardly hold that status.



Even if this view still prevailed, the fact that Charles's first wife is dead would remove any objection, though Camilla's divorce would be an issue.



The Church of England dropped its prohibition against divorce back in 2002 or 2003, though C of E clerics can still refuse to perform a wedding for divorced people if their personal values dictate it. However, I think the view now is that a monarch should be able to enjoy the same rights as other British citizens, and other British citizens can get divorced if a marriage fails, can be remarried in the church, and will not be excluded from whatever entitlements they would normally enjoy if they get a divorce. For example, the heir to a peerage -- a duke or earl's heir, for example -- isn't going to be prevented from assuming his title because he's been divorced.



Times change.

Answer 7

Charles was not considered "divorced" at the time he married Camilla. Charles' wife had DIED...and that made him a widower....and perfectly free to marry again under any church's laws....including the Church of England.



One of the things that simplified Charles being able to marry Camilla is that Charles already had two sons .....and so had provided the UK with suitable heirs to the throne. Additionally, he and Camilla are far too old to be having any more babies. So, not like succession to the throne had to be considered as a factor in their marriage.



There is such a thing as a morganatic marriage....which is a marriage a royal makes...with the condition that the wife will not share the titles of the royal...and that no children born to the marriage will have any inheritance or succession rights.



The marriage of Camilla and Charles is NOT a morganatic marriage.....so, technically, when Charles becomes King....Camilla will share his titles...and she will become Queen Consort. There is nothing in the laws of the UK that can prevent Camilla from, technically, becoming Charles' Queen Consort. She may choose not to call herself "Queen Camilla":....but, correctly and technically, she will BE Queen Camilla whether she chooses to call herself that or not.



Since probably two-thirds of the Brits have a divorce and second marriage in their families....I think they are being a bit hypocritical to act like it is such a horrible thing for Camilla and Charles to be married...or for Camilla to become Queen.



Camilla behaves exactly correctly, acts like a lady, and takes a second place to her royal husband. One can tell that they are very much in love, and one can tell that they have a peaceful and happy home. She is not a publicity hound..nor does she ever seek any sort of attention for herself.



I so admire Camilla....she is simply happy to be married to the man she has always loved....and has just ignored everything nasty said about her....and been content to be the one Charles loves and was willing to fight to marry.



The two boys love and respect her not only in her own right....but because they love their father and they can see how happy it makes their father to be married to her.



I don't understand all the dreadful, selfish gits who would deny those two people something that they do in the own families all the time.

Answer 8

How does Prince Charles commit Adultery while married

then get divorced and can become King? He did 2 things<<<

Answer 9

Charles will be King. Whether he's divorced or not is irrelevant. Camilla's title is supposed to "HRH The Queen". However. she supposedly, out of deference to her unpopularity, has requested to use the title "Princess Consort."



However, he and Camilla had to get married in a civil ceremony out of deference to the Church of England since both he and Camilla were both divorced prior to their marriage. While the Church of England doesn't "ban" divorce like the Catholic Church, it does severely frown on divorce. Charles being a future Supreme Governor of the Church of England complicated matters even more.

Answer 10

here are numerous reasons why a once committed relationship would degenerate to one partner asking for a divorce. how to save your marriage https://tr.im/ZoJhJ



It could have been:



- an affair

- having been separated by a long distance for lengths of time

- conflict

- behavioral issues or psychological problems of one spouse

- even unmanaged addictions.



Whatever of these problems may be what is seen on the surface, the bottom line is that usually, barring any abuse or psychological problems that are best handled by a professional, a couple find themselves in danger of divorce when there is a loss of:



- communication,

- love

- and intimacy



in the marital relationship.

Answer 11

Charles ,IF he ever becomes king, has a major problem with Camilla, The English monarch is also head of the Church of England, I suspect his being married to a Roman Catholic could exclude him.

Answer 12

In theory, yes he will be king if he lives, but being divorced is just one thing that goes against him. I am not Church of England, but how can he ever be Defender of The Faith with such a black mark against his name? There was also the adultery. Ok, we are all sinners, but this bloke holds himself up to be a notch or two above us. Hypocrite? We have seen Margaret, Anne, Andrew and Charles ALL divorce. So many in one family?

Answer 13

There are no rules about being divorced and the monarchy. Charles' divorce is no barrier to his becoming king.

Answer 14

Wow, Thanks! Just what I was searching for. I looked for the answer on other websites but I couldn't find them.

Answer 15

Given that his mom makes the rules, I don't see how that would be a problem.

Answer 16

He probably will step aside for his son to avoid a legal mess.