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Queen Elizabeth II has died and King Charles is now Canada’s head of state.
What happens next hasn’t happened since 1952 when Elizabeth took her place as Queen, a position only bestowed upon her because Edward VIII abdicated in 1936; that resulted in Elizabeth’s father becoming king George VI.
Upon Elizabeth’s death her eldest son, a prince his whole life, automatically became monarch and is now King Charles III. There is no disruption to any governing bodies or legislature sitting in her name, according to The Canadian Press.
In a statement from Buckingham Palace Thursday, Charles said the moment was one of “the greatest sadness” for the family.
Seventy-three-year-old Charles is the oldest person to ever take the British throne, and there is not yet a date for his coronation. His mother’s did not take place until more than a year after the death of her father.
According to Westminster Abbey’s coronation service guide, planning begins almost immediately after a new monarch succeeds to the throne. The Abbey has been the site of 38 coronation ceremonies.
The ceremony involves a procession and an oath “swearing to govern faithfully with justice and mercy, to uphold the Gospel, and to maintain the doctrine and worship of the Church of England,” the guide reads.
Charles’s eldest son, 40-year-old Prince William, is now the direct heir to the throne but does not automatically assume his father’s old title of Prince of Wales, which he must formally have bestowed upon him.
After William, the next in line to the throne are his children in order of birth: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, all under 10 years of age.
Fifth down the line is Prince Harry, despite his stepping away from the monarchy and new life in the United States. Charles’ brother Prince Andrew, who was recently embroiled a sexual abuse case related to Jeffrey Epstein, is eighth in line.
Charles’s wife, Camilla, now has the title of Queen Consort.
The Royal Family’s official website was offline Thursday but for a memorial for Elizabeth as “appropriate changes” are being made to it.
Now Canada and several other nations will begin replacing the word “Queen” with “King” in several institutions — eg. Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Bench, whose website was quickly made over on Thursday. Criminal cases will be referred as to “King” (ie. the state) versus the accused, said Errol Mendes, a law professor at the University of Ottawa — but in most cases, he noted, such changes will likely be done over time.
Mendes added that those thinking the Queen’s death means a chance to pry Canada from the monarchy in favour of an elected head of state are dreaming.
Canada abandoning the monarchy would require unanimous consent from provinces and federal Parliament, he said, and such an agreement across the country is unlikely.
“I think that discussion will carry on because obviously because neither Charles nor his Queen Consort is probably as popular in Canada as the Queen was,” he said. “But that’s not going to lead to any substantive change.”
Correction (Sept. 8, 2022): This article has been updated from a previous version that misstated the year of King Edward VIII’s abdication.
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