Charles, Prince of Wales

Queen Elizabeth II dead: King Charles, previously the Prince of Wales, takes to the throne aged 73.

[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). ‘We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother. [here](https://metro.co.uk/how-to-subscribe-to-metro-news-notifications/). [ news page](https://metro.co.uk/news/). [Charles, Camilla and William travel to Balmoral to be with the Queen](https://metro.co.uk/2022/09/08/charles-camilla-and-william-travel-to-balmoral-to-be-with-the-queen-17324817/?ico=more_text_links) [Find out more »](https://metro.co.uk/news-updates-newsletter/) [ Charles, the Prince of Wales](https://metro.co.uk/tag/prince-charles/), and her grandsons, the Duke Of Cambridge, [Prince William](https://metro.co.uk/tag/prince-william/) and the Duke of Sussex, [Prince Harry.](https://metro.co.uk/tag/prince-harry/) [ live blog](https://metro.co.uk/2022/09/08/queens-health-latest-concerns-royal-family-gather-head-to-balmoral-16453313/) for the latest updates. Or you can submit your videos and pictures [here](https://metro.co.uk/submit-stuff/). [Buckingham Palace](https://metro.co.uk/tag/buckingham-palace/?ico=auto_link_news_P3_LNK1). [King Charles said in a statement](https://metro.co.uk/2022/09/08/king-charles-makes-his-first-statement-after-death-of-his-mother-the-queen-17329422/): ‘The death of my beloved mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family. [Prince Charles](https://metro.co.uk/tag/prince-charles/?ico=auto_link_news_P1_LNK1) is the new King and head of state of the United Kingdom and 15 commonwealth nations following the death of his mother.

Courtiers say Charles, 73, never wanted to think of accession as it meant death of beloved mother.

In 2014, one courtier who has known Charles for many years asked by the Guardian to suggest what kind of king he will be, said: “He will be true to his beliefs in his contributions. But with decades of active duty as the Prince of Wales behind him he will hope to rise to that task. They were joined at Balmoral by the Princess Royal, the Duchess of Cornwall, who is in line to become Queen consort, and the Prince of Wales. Charles will take over a role meant to represent stability in times of change, at a time of great political and social flux. In June he gave a very personal address to his “mummy” at a celebration of her platinum jubilee outside Buckingham Palace. Charles, 73, now King Charles, has been next in line to the throne for seven decades – by a distance the longest wait in the history of the British monarchy.

Charles is likely to be the "climate king." But he faces plenty of other challenges in the United Kingdom and abroad.

But as Newman said, a lot of this notion of the Commonwealth came from the queen herself: “Once she’s gone, I think this could unravel.” That could be destabilizing, at least in how Britain thinks of itself and its place in the world. [Global Britain](https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2021/11/britannia-chained-why-the-legacy-of-brexit-threatens-boris-johnsons-global-britain)” in the post-Brexit world, one where the UK reasserts its power and influence apart from the European Union. As experts said, Queen Elizabeth invested in this role as leader of the Commonwealth, and in passing it on to Charles, indicated she wanted it to continue. But there is also a lot of historical reckoning that hasn’t really been done, especially when it comes to Britain’s imperial history and its involvement in the slave trade. “And therefore, yes, there is a duty to the nation and to the British people.” [is trying to establish its position in the world](https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/issue-brief/global-britain-an-american-review/) in the aftermath of Brexit. Charles is also taking over as the head of the Commonwealth, a disparate group of nations that are only connected through very loose ties to Britain. The so-called “Spider Memos” include everything from a passionate demand [to end the illegal fishing of the Patagonian toothfish](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/13/prince-charles-black-spider-memos-lobbying-ministers-tony-blair) to a call for more equipment for troops in Iraq. And of course, by reorienting the monarchy around this global issue, it is a way for the institution to stay relevant and maybe even necessary. In 2018, the queen also named Charles [the head of the Commonwealth of Nations](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/apr/20/prince-charles-next-head-commonwealth-queen), which is the United Kingdom plus a group of 53 countries that have cultural or political ties to it, including as part of its former empire. “There’s another role that he’s carefully carving out for himself at the moment, and that is as this environmentalist king-in-waiting,” Owens said. “The reason the monarchy has survived is by constantly searching out new roles for itself,” said Ed Owens, a historian of the modern British monarchy.