On Thursday, Queen Elizabeth II reopened the Parliament for the second time since October. Prince Charles was also in attendance.

The two royals marked the start of a new Parliamentary session following the general election.

In the past weeks, it was noticed that Prince Charles' responsibilities had been upped. He has been shadowing his mother in the previous events, which led to many dubbing him as the "shadow king."

While royal sources dismissed the idea that the Queen is abdicating, there were already reports that the Queen will step down once she reaches 95. It is reportedly an appropriate time as her husband retired from public life in August 2017 at the age of 95.

"Planning for Charles to become king has been going on for some time. A transition is plainly underway. Her Majesty is in her 90s and can understandably only do so much," a source said.

While it is still not confirmed when the heir to the throne will take over the crown, Prince Charles has already been preparing for the role.

According to The Express, Charles will be helped in managing royal affairs by Prince William.

Royal source Russell Myers said, "This really doesn't represent a significant changing of the guard. That's certainly what I'm hearing here at Buckingham Palace. The two other senior members of the royal family are taking over responsibility from the Queen."

Prince Charles has already discussed the transition with Prince William, and they both know what the Prince of Wales would want to do with the Kingship. Also, it is reported that there's no doubt Prince Charles will also be pulling Prince Harry and Meghan Markle into line once they return from their break.

In November, the Sun reported that Prince Charles met with his father, Prince Philip, at Sandringham to ask advice for the leadership role.

The King regent also had a hand in the Queen's decision to ban brother Prince Andrew from any further royal duties in the wake of the Duke of York's past association with American financier and convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.

"The scandal surrounding Andrew and Epstein allowed Charles to step in to show that he can run The Firm," according to the Sun's source, "No one is bigger than the institution of the Royal Family. Not even Andrew, the Queen's favourite son."

Prince Charles has waited longer than anyone in the history of the British monarch to take the throne. Even though he has been first in line for his whole life, more than 60 years, some people have a hard time imaging him in the role.

However, there were several rumors in the past that his own mother did not want him on the throne.

In fact, recent polls suggest that most people in the U.K. would rather see Prince Charles' son, Prince William, on the throne over him.

Given how long Prince Charles has waited to be the king, it is unlikely that he will abdicate when the time comes for him to sit on the throne.

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Prince Charles, Prince William, Queen Elizabeth II, Royal uk, Royal family