For a fictional story, the fictional Queen of England dies and she is succeeded by her fictional son, whose name is Charles. Under the actual rules (if there are any), does Charles become King Charles, of may he choose some other name - like popes do? COuld he become, say, King Ralph?
does Charles become King Charles
I'm not British, but I believe he chooses a different name. I seem to remember on The Crown that Elizabeth decided to be called Elizabeth when they asked her what name she was going to use.
COuld he become, say, King Ralph?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regnal_name
I Think technically Yes, but it would go against tradition for the English crown.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_monarchs
The above link has a list of all the British Monarchs back to 1707. All of them used either their birth name or their original surname.
George VI was known by his first name, Albert, before he became King.
I said, All of them used either their birth name(first name) or their original surname.
George VI's surname was George. His full name was Albert Frederick Arthur George.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_VI
Sorry that was his last christian name. His surname was Windsor after his father George V changed the family name (surname) from the German one of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha during the First World War.
Ian
Update to correct former surname
Okay, but George was still part of his real name. He didn't pick something completely unrelated to his real name as is traditional with the Popes.
There is an interesting section on regnal names in the UK in the wikipedia article
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regnal_name
There is a possibility Charles will choose not to be Charles III
Ian
Update - see also the section on Scotland in the same article
His full name is Charles Philip Arthur George.
So he could be Charles III, Philip II, Arthur (the prior "King Arthur" is considered legendary, prior to the birth of the modern nation in 886 under Alfred the Great), or George VII.
And Charles might be interesting, since the previous kings of that name were both of the House of Stuart. That might be problematic, as his ancestor George I is the one that took the throne from the Stuart's, after the death of Anne with no direct heirs. Then the name was Hanover, changed to Saxe-Coburg and Gotha under Edward VII (his father's family name), then finally under Edward VIII to Windsor after the King severed all ties with the Saxe-Coburg name and titles during WWI.
If I was to guess, he would probably choose George. Philip is also a possibility to honor his father.
changed to Saxe-Coburg and Gotha under Edward VII (his father's family name), then finally under Edward VIII to Windsor after the King severed all ties with the Saxe-Coburg name and titles during WWI.
Not quite. Changed in 1917 by George V the first monarch of the House of Windsor. see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Windsor
Philip is unlikely, since there has been a King Philip of England, briefly. He was king by right of his wife (and was also known as Philip II of Spain) as the husband of Queen Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary). The associations are unfortunate.
Ian
Found this:
Queen Elizabeth II is distantly related to Queen Elizabeth I. But that's probably not why she chose to reign as Queen Elizabeth II. Royal Central reports that most monarchs of the United Kingdom have used their baptismal name as their regnal name. Queen Victoria, born Alexandrina Victoria; King Edward VII, born Albert Edward; and King George VI, born Albert Frederick Arthur George, are the three exceptions.
When Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary became queen in 1952. When she was asked what regnal name she would take, she reportedly replied, "My own of course — what else?" When the queen dies, she will be succeeded by her son, Prince Charles. And many people think that he might adopt a different regnal name because of the unfortunate associations with previous monarchs named Charles.