Here's Why Princess Charolette Won't Become Queen Anytime Soon

Most news coming from the royal family lately has been happy, as it should be. There's an upcoming wedding, the birth of another royal baby is on the horizon... it's all pretty grand, as the British say. Even with the latest news of new royals joining the family, when it comes to who's running the show across the pond, things haven't changed much. But, eventually, there will be some changes in the pecking order over at Kensington Palace and someone new will have to take over the throne. While that won't immediately be Prince George or Princess Charlotte, one day it might. Prince George has a long way to go until he'd be king, but when will Princess Charlotte be queen? Turns out, she's actually not too far back in line to the throne, but that doesn't mean she'll become queen any time soon.

Queen Elizabeth II is currently reigning over the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and has held her title since 1952. Of course, that can't last forever and though much of the land will be mourning the loss of their queen when that times come, the royals have a plan in place. Currently, Princess Charlotte is fourth in line to the throne, and because of a new rule that favors birth order over sex, she'll stay that way until she gets moved up, as SheKnows explained. Yes, back in 2015 the queen's own Succession of the Crown Act was made official, which means that even if Princess Charlotte ends up having a little brother, her place in line to the throne remains safe.

Still, logistically speaking, Princess Charlotte won't be able to become queen until her grandfather, Prince Charles, her father Prince William, and her brother Prince George have all passed on or there's another extenuating circumstance, according to the BBC.

So if you're looking for a specific timeline, there isn't really an exact answer for when Princess Charlotte will be queen, if ever, only that it'll likely be way, way in the future. Queen Elizabeth II has reigned for 66 years and is currently a healthy 91-year-old monarch. In fact, she's the longest-reigning monarch in Britain's history.

It's actually fairly likely that Princess Charlotte might never become queen, since Prince Charles and Prince William would both have to take over the throne, followed by Prince George. Only then would Princess Charlotte hold that position. And as sad as that might be to hear, don't forget: the young princess will always be a royal.

While Prince William and Kate Middleton haven't yet revealed the sex of their third child, Princess Charlotte's line in the succession to the throne won't change whether she has a baby brother or a baby sister. She's fourth and will remain fourth for the foreseeable future and her new sibling will follow in line, followed by Prince Harry and Prince Andrew, according to the BBC.

Whether she gets another brother or a baby sister, it seems like Princess Charolette will be happy either way. An inside source revealed to Us Weekly that Princess Charlotte was "looking forward" to having a younger sibling. Additionally, the source revealed that "William and Kate like to keep Charlotte involved and part of the excitement around having a new sibling. She’s very aware she’s going to have a new baby brother or sister." The source also told Us Weekly that Princess Charlotte loved to play "baby" with her dolls, so perhaps she's excited about the idea of having a real-life baby in their home.

But, just because Princess Charlotte's youngest sibling won't be able to take her spot doesn't mean someone else can't. In fact, just as Prince William's kids jumped ahead of Prince Harry in the succession, as the Daily Mail reported, Prince George's future kids could jump ahead of Princess Charlotte. As SheKnows explained:

Charlotte's not completely in the clear, however: All of her big brother's kiddos will get to jump her spot, though it'll be a while (or maybe never) before anyone has to deal with those intricacies.

Although it's technically in the cards, Princess Charlotte has a pretty slim chance of ever actually becoming queen. But being a princess for life probably isn't the worst thing in the world.

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