Prince William had Covid

[lyralalala]

...around the same time as his father.

Was apparently quite ill with it and it was kept quiet so as not to alarm the public

That would have had them panicking. Heir and his heir ill at the same time is their worst nightmare!

If that had happened and George had ended up being next in line then the Regent options (Harry first, then If he declined Andrew, as the next in line over 21) would have been a disaster

No wonder the Queen was shut away so tightly!!

@Pixxie7

Actually it would have been princess anne if Harry had declined.

No, it wouldn't

It goes by line of succession. Anne is behind Andrew, Beatrice, Eugenie and Edward in terms of those over 21 in the line of succession.

Of course the only reason that it would end up in such a situation is if the Queen, Charles and Williams had all died from the virus which would be extremely unlikely given that even if people in their 90s it is much more likely that you will live than die.
While there might have been issues down the line with regards to Charles passing before George is 21 if William had died (although there is no way that an 18-21 year old would have a regent in this day and age) they'd have almost certainly redrafted the law to avoid either Harry or Andrew being made regent (most likely by passing the duty onto Kate).

I'm not surprised he got it or that they covered it up. I think part of the reason Boris got so ill was because he delayed seeking medical help.

I suspect it was a bit of a shock of the royal family that they both got ill at the same time. They will be having lots of meetings to discuss what happens. Part of the problem with a slimmed-down monarchy is what happens if anything happens to William.

@StatisticalSense

Of course the only reason that it would end up in such a situation is if the Queen, Charles and Williams had all died from the virus which would be extremely unlikely given that even if people in their 90s it is much more likely that you will live than die. While there might have been issues down the line with regards to Charles passing before George is 21 if William had died (although there is no way that an 18-21 year old would have a regent in this day and age) they'd have almost certainly redrafted the law to avoid either Harry or Andrew being made regent (most likely by passing the duty onto Kate).

lyralalala@ Anne is older than Andrew and the line of succession has now changed.

@Pixxie7 The change of primogeniture wasn't retrospective so didn't affect Princess Anne's position in the line of succession. She is still behind her brothers and their children.

www.royal.uk/succession

The Succession to the Crown Act (2013) amended the provisions of the Bill of Rights and the Act of Settlement to end the system of male primogeniture, under which a younger son can displace an elder daughter in the line of succession. The Act applies to those born after 28 October 2011. The Act also ended the provisions by which those who marry Roman Catholics are disqualified from the line of succession. The changes came into force in all sixteen Realms in March 2015.

Ok I stand corrected but I still think Anne would be regent, there would be a national outcry if it was Andrew, hopefully we will never know.

@Pixxie7

Ok I stand corrected but I still think Anne would be regent, there would be a national outcry if it was Andrew, hopefully we will never know.

I don't think it would ever be Andrew, he'd have to step aside, but I don't think it would go as far as bypassing both his daughters and Edward.

That would raise too many "well if they can just change the rules when it suits them what's the point in them" questions

Plus I don't think she would even want to do it.

William was barely ill and continued with telephone engagements. Hardly sounds newsworthy.

Ok I stand corrected but I still think Anne would be regent, there would be a national outcry if it was Andrew, hopefully we will never know

I hoe we never know, but if it came to pass that we needed to find out, we would be dependent on those in the line of succession to do the right thing. Which would mean those who have retired from Royal duties deciding the role (a bit like an abdication, they can't be forced into a role if they decline it), in Prince Harry's case because he has stepped down from duties and in Prince Andrew's because he has been removed.

@alexdgr8

i don't think that's how it works necessarily now. if need be, Kate would be assisting young georgy-porgey. by the way, i have a fantasy that sis charlotte is more suited to the role; the way she smiled to the people and gave a regal wave, so self-possessed, en route to see newborn Louis. what age was she then. so composed, a prodigy. so in my imagined world, young georgy finds it all rather boring and cramps his style, looks across at charlotte, and says, hey how about we swap. and she graciously steps in to take up the orb and sceptre. to become another great queen.

Your imagined world is a little like Harry's. He offered to be King (when a child) when William said he didn't want to do it!

They have rules to stop.wars of succession.

There were literal wars in the past in Europe, and many shenanigans short of war to build factions and force takeovers. Today it would be war of tabloid and internet. Not a great prospect

The thought that Prince Harry and Prince Andrew would be in line to be regent is alarming.

It’s quite likely this has now been announced because someone leaked it to the press maybe so the palace got in there first to confirm.

As for elderly people surviving, the vast majority of elderly people do survive, even though the majority who die are elderly iyswim.

And trump didn’t actually have COVID so he doesn’t count.

More to the point, he got a test in April. Without being ill enough to go to hospital.

At a time when hospitals were refusing to test care home residents they were trying to discharge into care homes.

Regency doesn’t follow any line of succession. When it seemed likely that Queen Victoria would become the Queen whilst under age the regent was going to be her mother Princess Victoria of Saxe Coburg who had absolutely no claim to the throne at all.

I don’t see why this is even news. 🤷‍♀️

@Thecobwebsarewinning

Regency doesn’t follow any line of succession. When it seemed likely that Queen Victoria would become the Queen whilst under age the regent was going to be her mother Princess Victoria of Saxe Coburg who had absolutely no claim to the throne at all.

There's been 3 regency acts since then, including laying out the order of who gets to be regent, probably to stop the risk of what would have happened then with the mother's lover getting a say in running the country.

@Burnout101. Thank you. I stand corrected. I need to start reading some more recent history obviously.

According to Wikipedia the order for any prospective Regency is Harry (but he’d have to to living in the UK), then Andrew, then Andrew’s heir Beatrice. My mind is boggling.

I think we need an amendment to make equal opportunity regency retrospective. In view of Anne being the best choice.

The reason it's news is just as the OP explained: it raises the ugly spectre of exactly how close to the throne are some thoroughly unsuitable characters. Having the Queen followed by any of them would be a letdown as big as Trump succeeding Obama, if you ignore the arguably toothless role of a modern constitutional monarchy.

Just because many people find them dull and irrelevant, doesn't mean it isn't news.

I get how it would have been news when he actually had it. Everyone (especially MN!) could have had a fine old time speculating over whether he and Charles would both die etc.

Just not sure why now.

It does seem a bit odd to announce it now after all this time. But I suppose that's better than it getting leaked in a a few months/years. But I think it was the right decision at the time to keep it from the public. It shows William to be thinking of other and his duty first before himself. And of course avoiding all the speculation and publicity what if.

Oh. Well, glad he didn't die. Sure he got excellent care.

I remember watching that Abbey service and thinking it was crazy, all those handshakes on the way out, but I wonder if they'd been told to keep things as normal as possible?

Either way, it would have been massive and alarming news at the time.

I do like the idea of a retrospective change to allow Anne to move up the line!