Prince Harry could soon rule the U.K. if the Kate Middleton rumors are true

Prince Harry likely met the 2013 birth of Prince George with some relief. For his entire life, he’d been third in line for the throne, with his father Charles the heir and William next up. Though it was unlikely both Charles and William would die before their time, it was certainly not impossible.

After George was followed by Princess Charlotte in 2015 and Prince Louis in 2018, Harry would have felt the heat was truly off him for good. As such, in 2020 he and his wife Meghan made the bombshell announcement that they were standing down as working Royals and promptly upped sticks to California. And, after learning how his family treated him and Meghan, who could blame him?

But now, in the manner of Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part III, Harry may be crying in frustration, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in…”

Annus Horribilis 2: Electric Boogaloo

As 2024 began, the Royals seemed in a relatively secure position. Charles has comfortably settled into life in the top job and avoided major controversies, with the public having finally warmed to Camilla as Queen Consort. William and Kate provide a dash of glamor at state functions and, while Harry and Meghan are an itch they can’t scratch, at least there’s the buffer zone of the Atlantic Ocean.

But the confetti had barely been swept away from the Buckingham Palace New Year’s Eve party when it all began to fall apart. First up was the shocking confirmation that the King is suffering from cancer. Precisely what kind of cancer and how serious his condition is remains unknown, though a Greek newspaper has reported that he has pancreatic cancer. That’s not great for his long-term prospects, to say nothing of his past statements on cancer treatment.

And then there’s the mysterious disappearance of Kate Middleton. She was rushed to hospital in mid-January for “abdominal surgery” and hasn’t been seen since Christmas. Aside from some suspiciously vague platitudes, there’s been no official confirmation of her status and the lack of any concrete proof that she’s alive has resulted in a deluge of speculation and conspiracy theories.

Checkmate, Harry

All this leaves the Royal Family in a very precarious position. If Charles does succumb to his cancer, William will become King far sooner than anyone ever expected. But if there really is some kind of cover-up about his wife’s condition, to say nothing of William somehow being the cause of it, then there would be a ludicrous amount of drama and anger in the British public and press.

In theory, a King or Queen is immune from public opinion; they rule because they were born into the position. In practice, as the French can attest, a monarch can run afoul of public opinion and be removed rather quickly (and violently!). It’s not quite time to dust off the guillotine yet, but make no mistake, if William’s reputation were to catastrophically collapse to the point that his being King would threaten the existence of the crown itself, then it’s time for abdication and for the 10-year-old George to become King.

If that happened, a Regent would need to be appointed to rule in George’s stead until he turned 18. And, under the 1937 Regency Act, guess who’d be called up to take the job? That means goodbye California for Harry and Meghan, and hello mindbending scrutiny at the weakest the Crown has been since the English Civil War. Given how much the British press despises the pair, you would expect them to be met with a deluge of negative press, to say nothing of having to juggle their relationship with a teenage King George.

If Harry said no, they’d have to turn to the next in line: none other than Jeffrey Epstein’s BFF Prince Andrew. And, uh, let’s just say he comes with his own PR complications, to say nothing of the fact that nobody wants him within a million miles of anyone’s children ever again.

Granted, Harry becoming Regent and assuming direct control over the monarchy remains unlikely, but with Charles’ condition and Kate’s vanishing act, who really knows? We’re still hoping for some actual announcements that would put the conspiracies to rest, but right now everything is smoke and mirrors. Either way, if I were Harry, I’d keep an emergency bag packed just in case he needs to swoop in and save the day.

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