Why Elizabeth II Won’t Be The Last Queen Of England

With Queen Elizabeth II at the helm, it’s probably safe to say that the British monarchy is as stable as it can be. But even the world’s longest reigning monarch can’t stay on the throne forever.

There will inevitably come a time when she will have to relinquish control. In fact, a common hypothetical question among royal family fans is whether or not Her Majesty is going to be the last Queen of England.

Someone actually posted the same question on the site Quora, which surprisingly yielded a diverse range of responses. For instance, Leslie Friedrich found a technical issue in the question “Will Elizabeth II be the last Queen of England?” because in the first place, Queen of England is not her proper title. Thus, she can never be the last one because she isn’t one. For those interested in what her lengthy title is, here’s a link.

Fellow Quora user Harry Kriewaldt agrees with Friedrich’s answer. “On a purely terminological level, she can’t be, since there’s not been a Queen of England in a good couple of centuries,” he wrote.

Kristina Stinson gave a more detailed explanation and revealed which monarch is actually the last queen. “The last queen of England was Queen Anne who was crowned as Queen of England & Ireland 23 April 1702. Ireland having been included the year before in the Acts of Settlement,” Stinson wrote.

But Stinson added that there’s actually a way for Her Majesty to become the last queen. “If Northern Ireland becomes united with Ireland, she will become Queen England,” she said.

Meanwhile, Raymond Duggan found another way to interpret the question. In a gist, yes, Queen Elizabeth is likely going to be the last Queen for some time to come. The reason for this is that there will be three kings after her based on the line of succession.

There’s Prince Charles, followed by Prince William and followed by Prince George. If Prince George’s future firstborn child is going to be a male, then her great grandmother will still technically remain the last queen or the last female monarch. She will only cease to be one when, somewhere down the line, a female heir rises to the throne.