April 20 (UPI) — Prince Charles will be the next Head of Commonwealth, leaders agreed Friday — going along with Queen Elizabeth II’s wishes for her son to succeed her in the role.
Although the post is not hereditary, the Queen said Thursday she hoped Charles — her oldest son — would take over when she dies.
“It is my sincere wish that the Commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations, and will decide that one day The Prince of Wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1949,” the Queen told the heads of state.
Commonwealth leaders, who met Friday at Windsor Castle on the second and final day of the formal Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting program, agreed to her wish.
The decision for who succeeds the Queen as Head of Commonwealth — which represents about 2.4 billion people — needed to be unanimous.
The Queen assumed the post in 1952 after the death of her mother.
Camilla Parker Bowles, who Prince Charles married in 2005, will not receive the title of queen when Charles ascends to the throne, but will have the title of princess consort.
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