Is Queen Elizabeth stepping down? Prince Charles will take the throne in six months, claims royal biographer
"I still firmly believe when the Queen becomes 95, she will step down," royal commentator Robert Jobson said in an interview with the True Royalty TV's weekly program 'The Royal Beat'. The next in line to the throne to become the King of England is Prince Charles once Queen Elizabeth steps down, as suggested by Jobson.
Newsweek's royal reporter Jack Royston added: "I think she won't want to. But realistically she will get to a point where she has handed over everything to Charles and then how do you look your son in the eye and tell him he is not going to be King?" The Queen is due to celebrate her 95th birthday in April 2021, suggesting the move may take place in the next six months.
Elizabeth II became the Queen of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland in 1952 after the death of her father, King George VI. Her coronation was held at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953. She marked 68 years on the throne this year, making her the longest-reigning monarch in British history. At 94 years old, the Queen continues to carry out royal engagements, even during the coronavirus pandemic.
Jobson's comments come just before the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana's infamous 1995 interview with the BBC's Panorama. “That period between the separation announcement (of Charles and Diana), she actually was on the ascendancy of getting everything she wanted,” he says. “But she did this (BBC’s Panorama) and I think she thought she was more powerful than the Queen. The Queen thought enough was enough and the shutters came down.”
Jobson also discussed the recent reports about Prince Andrew potentially returning to royal duties. “Can he come back from this? No. No way can he come back from this,” he said. “He has to be cleared by the FBI. If he goes over there, he opens himself to a large can of worms. Whatever he was doing at the parties was unsavoury. Andrew's association with Epstein leaves him totally exposed.”
On 20 November 2019, Prince Andrew suspended his public duties for the "foreseeable future" following intense negative reaction regarding a television interview for the BBC's Newsnight program, aired on 16 November 2019, which was mainly concerned with allegations against him of sexual abuse and his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Queen Elizabeth is currently staying at her royal residence, Windsor Castle, where she has taken part in several socially-distanced royal engagements. The Duke of Edinburgh has recently joined her, having spent a great deal of time at his cottage Wood Farm at Sandringham during his retirement. Talking about Prince Philip, Jobson adds that the Duke is instrumental in all of the Queen's big decisions concerning media coverage of the royal family. “It was Philip who was behind her first Christmas televised broadcast,” he explained. “It was his decision to have the coronation televised and he had Churchill up against him.”
He continued saying, “The Queen appointed Philip as Chairman of the Committee, and he had to fight everyone — even Winston Churchill — to get that through. That crowning moment was as much his crowning moment as it was the Queen's.” Philip will celebrate his 100th birthday in June 2021.