Is Prince Harry Still in Line for the Throne?
As talk turns to King Charles III's cancer diagnosis and a potential shift in royal duties, some are wondering about the order of succession and who else is in line for the throne…and by that we mean: Is Prince Harry still eligible to become king now that he's stepped down from being a senior working member of the royal family? (Although, there's a chance Charles may ask him to step into some duties.)
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Could Prince Harry ever become king?
It’s a good question! And the answer, possibly surprisingly, is still yes—despite the Duke of Sussex having made it very clear that he’s keen to distance himself from royal protocols and press intrusion (which would likely only ramp up further if he were to become king). At present, Harry is fifth in line to the throne and this is a birthright “privilege” that cannot be revoked without an Act of Parliament being in place.
However, there’s a whole myriad of things that would need to happen in order for it to actually reach the stage that Prince Harry is first in line and set to become king, as he, of course, has an older brother, Prince William, who is the current heir to the throne—and who is expected to step up as monarch when King Charles III eventually passes.
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In the event of Prince William’s death occurring before King Charles’, Prince Harry would still not be the next choice for king. Instead, that honor would move on to Prince William’s eldest son, Prince George. Likewise, if Prince George were unable to fulfill the duty of becoming monarch, Princess Charlotte would take the throne—and failing that, Prince Louis also stands ahead of his Uncle Harry.
Currently, below Prince Harry in the order of succession are his and Meghan Markle’s son, Prince Archie (yep, he’s a prince now that his grandfather is the current King), followed by their daughter, Princess Lilibet.
So, the bottom line? Yes, Prince Harry could one day be king…but there’d need to be a lot of unfortunate and premature deaths for that to happen. And even if it did happen, there’s no certainty that the present Duke of Sussex would actually want to take on the role (he could very well choose to abdicate).
Would Prince Harry become king if Prince William abdicates the throne?
Okay, so this is a trickier one—if Prince William did decide to abdicate (which seems very unlikely) and Prince George was under the age of 18 at the time, then yes, technically Prince Harry (or another senior royal…although next in line is technically Prince Andrew, so, er, who knows) would be called upon to act as regent until Prince George’s time came. As for whether or not Harry—or William, for that matter—would really do that is another matter.
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