Why It Shouldn’t Be Inevitable That William Will Be Our Next Head of State

We’re so used to the idea of monarchy that many of us accept it without thinking. The Queen dies, Charles becomes King. One day Charles will die, and William will step up. It’s presented as natural, seamless, almost like the changing of the seasons. But we need to stop and ask: why should the next head of state be decided by bloodline rather than by the people?

The inevitability is an illusion. It only looks automatic because that’s how the system has been built. In reality, it’s Parliament — not divine right, not destiny — that keeps the monarchy in place. MPs could vote tomorrow to replace the hereditary system with a democratic one. There’s nothing in the constitution that prevents change. What keeps William next in line is not law carved in stone but a lack of political will.

And consider what “inevitability” means in practice. It means that however inspiring, corrupt, or ordinary William turns out to be, the role is his by birth. The country doesn’t get a say. No election. No choice. No accountability. In every other walk of public life, from parish councillor to prime minister, positions of authority depend on consent. Yet the head of state — the symbolic figure who represents all of us — is simply handed down like a family heirloom.

We’re told William will be a “modern monarch”. But what’s modern about a man being destined for a job from the moment of his birth? What’s democratic about the public having no say in who fills the highest constitutional office in the land?

Inevitability is a political tool. It’s designed to make us passive, to discourage debate, to suggest that questioning the monarchy is futile. But inevitability is not the same as legitimacy. A republic is possible, and it’s normal — most developed democracies elect their heads of state.

William’s future shouldn’t be treated as set in stone. It should be open to discussion, open to democracy, open to the people. If we’re serious about being a modern, self-respecting democracy, then nothing — and no one — should be inevitable.

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