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Who will assume Royal duties while King Charles battles cancer?

Find out who takes the top spot in line for the throne.
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After over 70 years as heir to the throne, King Charles has officially been crowned as the reigning sovereign.

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With the new King now taking a step up, the order of the line of succession has shifted, with members of the British royal family both moving up and down in the line for the throne.

King Charles has officially been crowned monarch after being first in the line of succession for over 70 years.

(Image: Getty)

What is the current line of succession?

As of June 2023, King Charles’ eldest son, Prince William, is first in the line of succession and will be the next member of the royal family to assume the throne.

Charles’s cancer diagnosis will inhibit him from performing his regular royal duties. So, what happens?
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Working royals will step up to perform his royal duties usually Prince William but currently, he is staying at home with Princess Kate while she recovers.
 
The other working royals will step in his place unless Will decides to step away from Kate earlier than suspected.
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Princess Royal Anne and Prince Edward are the only other working royals, meaning they will most likely step into Charles’ place at necessary events in the meantime.
 
After Kate recovers and is ready to work after Easter, Will and her will most likely take on the majority of the royal duties along with Queen Camilla.
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Prince William and Princess Catherine’s eldest son, Prince George, is second in line for the throne, followed by his younger sister, Princess Charlotte.

In 2013, the Succession to the Crown Act introduced revisions to the line of succession that eliminated male preference. As a result, the eldest heir apparent now holds a higher position in the line of succession, regardless of gender.

As this revision applies only to royal heirs born after October 28, 2011, Princess Charlotte is the first of the female heirs to be ahead of her younger brother, Prince Louis, who is currently fourth in line for the throne.

Prince William is currently first in line to the throne, with his son Prince George now second.

(Image: Getty)
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King Charles’ youngest son, Prince Harry, is currently fifth in line for the throne, with his two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, being sixth and seventh respectively.

Princess Catherine and Meghan Markle do not factor into the line of succession as they are not direct descendants of Queen Elizabeth II, with both being members of the British royal family by marriage.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s third child, Prince Andrew, is currently eighth in the line of succession, with his eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice, now ninth, followed by her daughter, Sienna Mapelli Mozzi.

Prince Andrew is currently eighth in line, followed by Princess Beatrice (R) and Princess Eugenie (L).

(Image: Getty)
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Prince Andrew’s youngest daughter, Princess Eugenie, is currently eleventh in line to the throne, followed by her eldest son, August Brooksbank.

Following the arrival of her youngest son Ernest in June 2023, Prince Edward, Princess Eugenie’s uncle, has now been bumped down in the line of succession, with the youngest child of the late Queen now fourteenth in line.

Anne, Princess Royal is behind her younger brothers and their children in the line of succession, with the Princess now being seventeenth in line. Her eldest child, Peter Phillips, is currently eighteenth in line, followed by his two daughters, Savannah and Isla.

Princess Anne’s youngest daughter, Zara Tindall, is twenty-first in the line of succession, with her children Mia, Lena, and Lucas rounding out the direct line of succession.

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Princess Anne’s two children, Peter and Zara, are the last of Queen Elizabeth II grandchildren in the line of succession.

(Image: Getty)

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