King Charles held ‘discreet’ meetings to plan ‘regency’ amid Queen’s frailty

King Charles reportedly held “discreet” discussions about the regency during the Queen’s final years.

Ahead of the Queen’s tragic death in September 2022, growing unease at the palace is leading to serious consideration of plans for a succession so that then-Prince Charles can take over.

However, whenever palace aides came up with a plan for the regency, Prince Charles would be “extremely reluctant” to discuss the process, according to Daily Mail.

A palace aide said: “You could come in with all the paperwork and say, ‘Have you gone through it all? Are you happy with it?’ and that would be it,” says one. “He didn’t want to dwell on the details … I think he felt that if you reach out for something, you’re tempting fate.”

Royal aides have presented Prince Charles with a variety of plans, including a “light regency” that would require minimal princely involvement and a “reversible regency” if the Queen is incapacitated for a short period.

A former aide explained why the need for a succession plan seemed necessary: ​​“With the Queen Mother approaching her 100th birthday, of course we had to think that the Queen would reach the same age. A regency seemed almost inevitable. That would be very difficult.”

He continued: “You would still need an almost full house of the Queen and an almost full house of the Prince and it would be very difficult for the regent. I always hoped it wouldn’t happen while I was there, but I didn’t see how we could get out of it, to be honest.”

Despite the government’s efforts to encourage the prince to come up with a plan, forming a committee and discussing it with Whitehall officials did not seem right to Charles.

Queen Elizabeth II eventually worked “even on her deathbed” and died peacefully at Balmoral. King Charles and Queen Camilla were crowned in May 2023.