Prince William or Harry: Who will succeed King Charles on British throne?

Prince Harry, who's fifth in line of succession, is not in hurry to drop his royal title anytime soon as he has sped up philanthropic and activism efforts amid predictions and speculations that "mystery king" will take the throne from King Charles instead of apparent heir to the throne Prince William.

Charles III became the king of not just the United Kingdom but also Australia, Canada, New Zealand and 11 other countries following his mother Queen Elizabeth II's passing on September 8, 2022.

A sovereign, as per the British constitution, succeeds to the throne the moment his or her predecessor dies, before being proclaimed to the people, so there is no interregnum.

The rules, most of which date back hundreds of years, mean the crown passes to the monarch's eldest child, and the line is then dictated by birth order and closeness to the existing sovereign.

Thus, Charles' eldest son Prince William is the heir to the throne, followed by William's eldest son Prince George, and then his younger children Charlotte and Louis. Prince Harry, Charles' younger son and William's brother, is then next in line.

However, the leading expert on 16th Century astrologer Nostradamus, in Mario Reading's book, speculated that a "mystery king" will take the throne from Charles, suggesting that the monarch's second son Harry could be the one ruling after the 74-year-old.

"Prince Charles will be seventy-four years old in 2022, when he takes over the throne, but the resentments held against him by a certain proportion of the British population, following his divorce from Diana, Princess of Wales, still persist," Reading wrote.

The author also suggested that King Charles' age would force him to abdicate to natural successor Prince William, but he then added that William would be unable to take the position but did not state a reason.

"A man will replace him who never expected to be king" and questioned, "Does that mean that Prince William, who would have expected to succeed his father, is no longer in the picture?"

The order of British Line of Succession 

1. Prince William (King Charles Eldest son)

2. Prince George (William's Eldest son)

3. Princess Charlotte (William's daughter)

4. Prince Louis (William's second son)

5. Prince Harry (King Charles second son) 

6. Prince Archie (Harry's first child)

7. Princess Lilibet (Harry's daughter)

8. Prince Andrew (Charles' younger brother)

9. Princess Beatrice (Andrew's eldest daughter)

10. Sienna Mapelli Mozzi (Beatrice's daughter)