It looks like Prince Charles will have to continue his wait to succeed his mother on the throne.
Queen Elizabeth II, who is currently 93, will not be stepping down when she turns 95, Charles’ office confirmed to People this week, following a flurry of headlines suggesting her departure.
“There are no plans for any change in arrangements at the age of 95 — or any other age,” a spokesperson said. HuffPost has reached out for additional comment.
Reports suggesting that the queen would be stepping down at 95 ― which would be on April 21, 2021 ― seem to have started with the book “Charles At Seventy,” People said. The biography, written by Robert Jobson and published in 2018, claimed that the queen was considering a regency, wherein she would give Charles the “full power to reign.”
“One senior aide told me that the Queen has given the matter of her passing considerable thought and believes that, if she is still alive at ninety-five, she will consider passing the reign to Charles,” Jobson wrote, adding that “abdication, however, is not even a consideration.”
While the queen isn’t passing along total control, she is passing off patronages and royal duties to her children, grandchildren and their spouses.
On Wednesday, the queen made Kate Middleton patron of Family Action, which provides support and resources to families in need, after serving as its patron for 65 years.
And earlier this year, the monarch passed two of her patronages along to Meghan Markle: the National Theatre and the Association of Commonwealth Universities, which provides scholarships and “life-changing educational opportunities” for students.
But the queen still has a busy schedule, and carried out 283 engagements in the United Kingdom last year, according to retired insurance broker Tim O’Donovan, who has tallied royal appearances since 1979. Prince Charles had 398 engagements in the U.K. and 109 overseas last year.
And while the Prince of Wales is generally regarded as the “longest waiting heir” in history, it seems he made peace with his place in the royal family ages ago.
“Charles figured out a very long time ago that he was going to be Prince of Wales for a very long time,” an unnamed source told Vanity Fair in 2018. “He planned his life accordingly, and he wouldn’t have been able to accomplish half of what he has if he had become King earlier.”
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