King-in-waiting

By R.L.W. and G.D.

How long will Prince William's son have to wait to become king?

ON JULY 22nd Prince William, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, had a son. The new baby is third in line to the British throne, but it could be decades before his reign starts. Prince Charles, 64 and first in line, will soon become the longest king-in-waiting, passing William IV, who became king—at 64 years and 10 months—after his brother George IV died in 1830. (Only this year was primogeniture abolished, allowing a first-born daughter to become the queen.) Since the first William (the Conqueror), the average age of accession has been 31, Prince William's current age. The reason future kings and queens have to wait longer to rule is largely because life expectancy has increased, and there are fewer or no challenges to their power. The youngest king was Henry VI, who came to the throne in 1422, aged nine months, when his father Henry V died suddenly, probably of dysentery.