In its cover story, Us Weekly reports that the reign of Queen Elizabeth will come to an end just shy of the 70-year mark. Sources tell the tabloid that “she is finally gearing up to officially step down from the throne.” The crown will pass to Prince Charles, but “she’ll still be heavily involved from behind the scenes,” a source says.
The article addresses the rumors that Prince William would get the throne, but says that “Her Majesty would find it extremely difficult to deprive” her son of what “he sees… as his birthright.”
Why would the queen step down now? Well, she’s “incredibly saddened and disappointed by the tumultuous events and scandals of the past year or so,” specifically Prince Andrew’s connection with Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Harry’s decision to move to the United States.
The article then goes into detail about what Prince Charles will do once he gets in power. He’s reportedly going to “slim down the monarchy” and eliminate any coattail riders. He will not “develop a role” for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, an insider tells the magazine, as they “have absolutely no interest in becoming full-time royals again.”
It’s a bittersweet moment for the royal family, with a source saying, “The end of [Queen Elizabeth’s] era will be marked with dignity and absolute respect.” Us Weekly treats this story with respect, but that doesn’t make it true. Queen Elizabeth has repeatedly said that she will never retire. In fact, the British government just announced plans for her platinum jubilee celebration in summer 2022.
This tabloid isn’t as wrong as it could have been, whatever that’s worth, because it does say that Prince Charles will become king. This is correct, and any report about Prince William or anyone else taking her place on the throne is even more ludicrous.
Woman’s Day recently said that Kate Middleton was becoming queen, and a month before that, it said that Prince Charles was secretly being coronated. New Idea falsely reported that the queen’s reign was “effectively over” back in June, and it later claimed her leaked will indicated that she’d retire due to COVID-19.
This story from Us Weekly about Prince Charles taking the throne is important to note because it reported the exact opposite just a few months ago. In August, it claimed that Prince William was superseding his father and would take the throne. It looks like this tabloid is hedging its bets with two completely different, but both false, stories.