The Queen: Would She Consider Abdication or Retirement?

[Lakshmi]

I don't think queen Elizabeth would ever abdicate. But Charles may become a king in very old age...

 

[Jo of Palatine]

I don't think queen Elizabeth would ever abdicate. But Charles may become a king in very old age...

Let's hope we'll never see Charles as HRH The Prince Regent like George IV. (called "Prinny") had to be before his father died (king George III. had been ill for a long time and was unable to reign).

 

[HRH Kerry]

I don't believe she'll abdicate either especially since she has said that. I was just wondering how she would be styled. As I said earlier, King Leopold III was styled 'His Royal Highness Prince Leopold of Belgium, Duke of Brabant' until his death. He was however known socially as 'HM King Leopold III of the Belgians'.

I believe that Charles will be king but later on in his life. And who's to say for how long. Both of his parents are pretty senior in years, not to mention how long the Queen Mother lived.

 

[Iain]

I hope Charles does become King. I think he's a kindly person and would make a good monarch. As for Elizabeth's title if she gave up the throne, when someone abdicates they give up the title so she would become a Princess again. The title Queen mother is only used by widowed Queen consorts and never by Queen regnants.

 

[Warren]

I'm not sure. I would think so, if the same standard is to apply for all abdications. I know that Queen Beatrix of the Netherland's mother abdicated in 1980 and was known as Princess Juliana until her death.

I guess it depends on which precedent is chosen. Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg remains Grand Duke in name, although his son is the reigning Sovereign.
Whatever the case, abdication for Queen Elizabeth seems inconceivable.

 

[Iain]

I guess it depends on which precedent is chosen. Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg remains Grand Duke in name, although his son is the reigning Sovereign.
Whatever the case, abdication for Queen Elizabeth seems inconceivable.

Luxembourg seems to have it's own way of doing things as the crown prince is known as Hereditery Grand Duke Guillaume.

 

[MissSaga]

Never, Never, Never,
She took a vow, and she will never absdicate.
I admire her so much, and I want to see her as queen of England, for many years to come, I am not comfortable with Charles as king, sorry

 

[HRH Kerry]

Why? Because she's been there for so long. Yes, she took a vow but we can never know what her she may actually do. She can't live forever and Charles may out live her and inherit the throne. What then?

 

[HRH Kimetha]

Besides being the reigning monarch and having the Duchy of Lancaster to pay her and her reign the upkeep, what else would she stand to loose, if she abdicated?

 

[Sister Morphine]

Never, Never, Never,
She took a vow, and she will never absdicate.
I admire her so much, and I want to see her as queen of England, for many years to come, I am not comfortable with Charles as king, sorry

No offense, but you don't live in England. Why wouldn't you be comfortable with Charles as King? What he would do or would not do while he reigns, wouldn't affect either of us, seeing as we live in the States. We aren't even a Commonwealth nation.

 

[Next Star]

This same questions has been brought up many times no the queen will not abdicate nor will she will retire. She will remain queen until she dies. Charles will have to wait many years unil he becomes king. All live the queen.

 

[Roslyn]

IMO her Majesty can serve her people without being their reigning Queen, and it is arguable that she may be of better service to them by stepping down.

I have in mind a situation where, for example, she has a disabling stroke which affects her speech and renders her physically unable to perform her duties, or the onset of dementia with its gradual decline. Dementia presents its own challenges of course, with respect to capacity, but in its early stages she could make the decision to step down. Would it be in her subjects' interests to stubbornly stay there as Queen when she can't do her job, merely because of something she said when she was 21? I'm sure the Church would find a way to make it acceptable for her to be released from her obligations to it.

I would imagine it would be possible for her to continue to be known as Queen Elizabeth if she abdicated, since Queen is inferior to King.

It would also provide a nifty way for Camilla to be known as Princess Consort, because you couldn't have two Queens. Maybe some thought has already been given to this scenario.

 

[Elspeth]

I think that if she stayed as Queen but Charles became Prince Regent (even with the unfortunate memories associated with the title!), it would have much the same effects as if she stepped down, and it would honour her pledge to devote her whole life to her duty rather than having the appearance of retirement.

As already pointed out, it would avoid the monetary issues of who would pay for her in her position as an ex-monarch. Charles would get his income from the Duchy of Lancaster, William would get his from the Duchy of Cornwall, and extra provision would have to be made for the ex-Queen, whereas if a regency was set up I assume things would stay the same as they are now except that the Duchy of Lancaster might pay for some of Charles's expenses in his capacity as acting monarch.

 

[Roslyn]

I think that if she stayed as Queen but Charles became Prince Regent (even with the unfortunate memories associated with the title!), it would have much the same effects as if she stepped down, and it would honour her pledge to devote her whole life to her duty rather than having the appearance of retirement.

As already pointed out, it would avoid the monetary issues of who would pay for her in her position as an ex-monarch. Charles would get his income from the Duchy of Lancaster, William would get his from the Duchy of Cornwall, and extra provision would have to be made for the ex-Queen, whereas if a regency was set up I assume things would stay the same as they are now except that the Duchy of Lancaster might pay for some of Charles's expenses in his capacity as acting monarch.

Yes, regency does make more sense.

I notice that once again the issue of avoiding the use of a title or name because of unfortunate memories associated with a particular holder has been raised. As I see it, by avoiding using the title the identification with that particular person becomes stronger, whereas if it is tackled head-on a new person can make his/her own mark on the postion and replace the previous bad associations with positive ones, or at least relegate them to their place in history. Charles could redefine Princes Regent and Kings Charles.

 

[HRH Kimetha]

I think that if she stayed as Queen but Charles became Prince Regent (even with the unfortunate memories associated with the title!)

What are the memories that you speak about?

 

[ysbel]

I think George IV who as Prince Regent led a rather dissolute court.

 

[HRH Kerry]

OMG!!! George IV, where do you begin? Numerous affairs, illegal marriage, outrageous debts, etc. That was at Regent!

 

[Elspeth]

Makes Charles's marital escapades look tame by comparison!

 

[HRH Kimetha]

Makes Charles's marital escapades look tame by comparison!

Well, I'll just have to go catch up again about George IV. My memory is in the ditch as of late. In fact, who am I?

 

[Elspeth]

Here's an old thread about George IV and Queen Caroline with some links to more information:

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f23/george-iv-caroline-brunswick-6992.html

 

[msleiman]

I don't think queen Elizabeth would ever abdicate. But Charles may become a king in very old age...

I think that the Queen will never abdicate also. Charles is still in for a long wait. The Queen mother lived until she was 101 right? I see a long wait for charles!!

 

[Toledo]

Abdicate? never! She is still full of energy and wit from what we saw in her recent visit to the USA. I'm in no rush to see prince Charles try on that crown, not even for size. He can wait a little longer, 20-25 more years.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

What happened to her father forbids even the thought of abdication! Her character and the way she has been carrying out her duties for over half a century shows this will NEVER be an option. UNTHINKABLE !
Of course you never know as it's not our decision when we have to leave this planet but keeping in mind her genes - and she inherited the physical strength of her mother - she might be around for many more years.
Will be interesting though to see what happens if the Duke has to go before her, if she can keep up with the demands and is still strong enough to carry on. Just thinking of it makes me shiver - her death is something I simply cannot imagine as she's been around all my life and I am sure many people feel this way.
So I am afraid Charles has to do what he has been doing all his life - keep on waiting and preparing

 

[Warren]

Just thinking of it makes me shiver - her death is something I simply cannot imagine as she's been around all my life and I am sure many people feel this way.

This was exactly how people felt in the later years of Queen Victoria's reign. She was the only Monarch that most people knew, and her death marked the passing of an era. Nonetheless, despite the long shadow she had cast and his "racy" private life, to the surprise of many Edward VII soon emerged as an accomplished and popular King.

 

[Hereditary Mapmaker]

I know that there has been a great deal of discussion regarding HM's strong constitution and the possibility of outliving her son and heir, the POW. Given that possibility, if Charles were to die in the next year or two and HM died shortly thereafter, IMO Prince William is unprepared to assume the throne. He is still very young and obviously has some wild oats left to sow. His popularity with the people is an asset but doesn't necessarily prepare him for the responsibilities of the throne. I for one hope that HM AND the POW live long lives if for nothing else than to allow William time to mature and prepare.

Mapper

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

IMO Prince William is unprepared to assume the throne. His popularity with the people is an asset but doesn't necessarily prepare him for the responsibilities of the throne. Mapper

Unfortunately, this doesn't go without saying. Prince William must be unprepared at this stage of his life, no question. If everything goes after plan, he'll still have enough time to prepare and I hope he does. I am not as sure about his popularity anymore as I was a few months ago. The circumstances surrounding the split from Kate have certainly done some damage to his image. When he did the opening speech at Wembley a few weeks ago he could hardly make himself understood as the football fans kept on singing and shouting. I thought that was very rude and clearly a sign of no respect towards him.
I have already said in another thread that IMO Clarence House should be more thoughtful in terms of public relations of the princes. As an example, I had mentioned the interview with both being carried out by a DJ instead of a serious journalist. I can only repeat myself: If the princes want to be taken seriously (and Wembley showed that this is obviously not the case) they should begin to act seriously.

 

[Duchess]

i don't think you'll ever see HM abdicate or retire. she's so duty bound that she just wouldn't do that.

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

Everything I've ever read about the Queen suggests that she takes her coronation vows totally seriously, that she feels and believes with everything in her that her commitment to be sovereign was a life contract, can be broken only by death. I think she actually believes that as much as one believes in air.

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

What happened to her father forbids even the thought of abdication! Her character and the way she has been carrying out her duties for over half a century shows this will NEVER be an option. UNTHINKABLE !
Of course you never know as it's not our decision when we have to leave this planet but keeping in mind her genes - and she inherited the physical strength of her mother - she might be around for many more years.
Will be interesting though to see what happens if the Duke has to go before her, if she can keep up with the demands and is still strong enough to carry on. Just thinking of it makes me shiver - her death is something I simply cannot imagine as she's been around all my life and I am sure many people feel this way.
So I am afraid Charles has to do what he has been doing all his life - keep on waiting and preparing

I agree.. But I think the Windsors should not waste too much time fearing "another David" because even if there was another Abdication, it could not be "another David". The Crown was forced, really it was forced on George VI. He was not expecting it, and it landed on him overnight.
With another say Prince Charles, if the Queen was incapacitated somehow, Charles would not be in the same shoes as his grandfather because, Charles is expecting to be King someday, he knows it will happen, and he has been groomed for it all his life. He will be prepared for it, unlike his poor grandfather. The same goes for William. They are being prepared for it, Charles probably is ready for it whenever it comes, and William is going to be ready when he is Charles's age, I'm sure, if not sooner.

 

[WindsorIII]

The queen will NEVER abdicate. Everything this extrodinary woman has shown us over her years of faithful duty through all situations tells us she will see it through to the end. To her its what God has chosen her for. Her duty to her country, her God and her people. She will be respected for it.

But if I try to see it from a never say never pov, the only one slight possibility to see her abdicate would be if she developed a serious illness that prevented her from carrying out her duties.