Charles III: King’s official title confirmed by Buckingham Palace

The Queen has passed away, aged 96.

In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”

Her Majesty’s death comes more than a year after the passing of her husband, Prince Philip, who died on 9 April 2021, aged 99.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II means her eldest child, Prince Charles, is now King. Buckingham Palace has confirmed that Charles’s regnal name - his official title while serving as monarch - will be King Charles III.

What is a regnal name?

A regnal name is the ruling name used by the monarch, it can be their first name or a different name.

When Queen Elizabeth II was asked what her regnal name would be when she acceded the throne age 25, she famously said: “My own of course.”

Why do royals choose different regnal names?

It’s quite rare for a British monarch to choose a different name as their regnal name, in fact there are only three recorded incidences of this and they have all occurred within the past 200 years.

The first royal to do this was Queen Victoria. Victoria had been christened Alexandrina Victoria but chose to use her second name when she became Queen in 1837.

Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Albert Edward, chose to use the regnal name of King Edward VII when he acceded to the throne as this was his mother’s wish.

Queen Elizabeth II’s father, King George VI is only the third royal to have used a different regnal name than his first name, as he was born Albert Frederick Arthur George.

However, it’s said that after his older brother abdicated the throne after less than a year as King, George VI was keen to “restore faith” in the monarchy so chose to use the same regnal name as his father, King George V.

What will Prince Charles’ regnal name be?

It has been confirmed that Charles’ regnal name will be King Charles III.

Prior to this, there was speculation that Charles may have elected out of being called King Charles III and could have chosen one of his middle names, Philip, Arthur or George instead.

Previously, there have only been two Kings to be known as King Charles. King Charles I is best known for being overthrown by Oliver Cromwell in 1645 and was beheaded in 1649.

While King Charles II, Charles I son, was popular when the monarchy was restored in 1660, his time as King is considered unlucky as both the Great Plague and Great Fire of London happened during his time on the throne and he was unable to produce a legitimate heir.