Recently the press speculated that Queen Elizabeth intends to step down from her literal throne in 18 months — right when she turns 95. And to be honest, it made sense. With the mess the monarchy is in right now, between Prince Andrew's ongoing spiral down the drain and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's "taking time off," it's not surprising to think that Elizabeth might be ready for a long, long break.
Well, hold your horses: It turns out QE2 isn't going anywhere anytime soon. If we're lucky, this means we have at least 10 more years of Elizabeth ahead of us.
A palace representative from the office of Prince Charles recently told ET, "There are no plans for any change in arrangements at the age of 95 — or any other age."
Got that, everybody? As royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith explains, "The queen can’t just wave a queen wand and say Charles you are my regent. It’s not her call."
It's not?!
If anyone is a professional monarch, it's got to be Queen Elizabeth II. After celebrating her Silver Jubilee in 2017, the queen has officially been on the throne for 67 years. For all intents and purposes, she has always appeared to rather enjoy the role. The palace recently shared a video of her first televised Christmas message from 1957.
Though he has certainly been quite active, and will undoubtedly become king someday, it sounds like Charles will not be stepping up to the plate anytime soon. The royal recently celebrated his 71st birthday and is the longest-serving Prince of Wales ever, and it's often been thought that he's quite ready for the role.
Younger generations have been clamoring for the palace to skip over Prince Charles entirely and put Prince William and Kate Middleton in charge. The odds of that are basically zero, since it would be unheard of. Also, as Prince Harry once told us all, no one in the family is particularly interested in taking on the role.
In 2017, Harry said, "We are involved in modernising the British monarchy. We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people. Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I don’t think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time."
For her part, Elizabeth has always presented as a natural for the role. She once said, "I know of no single formula for success. But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together."
In fact, she has shown no sign of slowing down. In October 2019 she held a reception celebrating the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust. In the photo caption, the palace explained, "The Trust’s work has since focused on helping to prevent avoidable blindness and to empower a new generation of young leaders. Its mission is to leave a lasting legacy owned by the whole Commonwealth, in honour of Her Majesty. The Trust has helped more than 22 million people in Africa and the Pacific receive vital antibiotics to combat trachoma – the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness and provided sight-saving surgery to over 104,000 people suffering with trachoma trichiasis."
She and Prince Philip also recently hit a personal milestone as well. "Happy 72nd Wedding Anniversary to The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, who were married on this day in Westminster Abbey." Members of the public and royal family alike feted the two on their own social media pages and across news channels.
Elizabeth has continued all aspects of her rule, including opening Parliament. In October, the royal family's Instagram account shared this photo, along with the caption, "This is the 65th occasion on which Her Majesty has opened Parliament – every year of her reign except 1959 and 1963 (whilst pregnant). In 2, The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, is pictured in 1958, the first time in history the State Opening was televised. The State Opening unites the three elements of legislature – the House of Lords, the House of Commons and The Queen – together as the Crown in Parliament."
The last few years have included a lot of joy for the royal family, including the weddings of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank. The Queen has also welcomed more great-grandchildren into the fold, including William and Kate's youngest son, Louis, and Meghan and Harry's son, Archie.
Elizabeth has also offered plenty of personal and professional support to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as they continue to struggle with the British press and its treatment of Meghan in particular. The Queen is said to have visited the couple at home prior to their holiday departure to the United States.
Eventually, Prince Charles will take over as monarch and ruler of England. He recently celebrated his 50th anniversary as a prince … and it looks like he may hold onto that title for at least a few more years to come.
