- LONDON (AFP) - Prince Charles
has reportedly discussed rejecting the title King Charles III when he accedes
to the throne because of its associations with Britain's bloody past.
-
- "There have been many conversations with the Prince
about this. It is an assumption among us all that it will happen,"
one of two unnamed "trusted friends" told the Times newspaper.
-
- The other was quoted as saying: "They (the Royal
Family) will decide at the time, but he has talked about George."
-
- Prince Charles -- whose full name is Charles Philip
Arthur George -- is said to favour the title George VII when he takes over
from his mother, the current Queen Elizabeth II.
-
- George VI, who died in 1952, was the queen's father
who took over unexpectedly after his brother Edward VIII adbicated over
his relationship with an American divorcee.
-
- The Times said the move away from Charles stems from
its associations with Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649 following the
English Civil War at the start of Oliver Cromwell's short-lived republic.
-
- The executed monarch's son, Charles II, spent 18 years
in exile and returned to Britain in 1660 but was nicknamed "The Merry
Monarch" because of his string of mistresses.
-
- Charles is also associated with the Catholic Bonnie
Prince Charlie, an enduring Scottish romantic figure, who claimed the throne
in the 18th century. A spokesman for Clarence House, Prince Charles's official
London residence, was quoted as saying: "One of the questions that
we have asked is what he (Charles) will be known as. The decision will
be taken at the time."
-
- The move would not be a first: in the 19th century,
queen Victoria was born Alexandrina Victoria while Edward VIII was referred
to in royal circles as Prince David.
|