King Charles' held ‘discreet' meetings to plan ‘regency' amid queen's frail condition

King Charles reportedly conducted “discreet” discussions over regency during the queen’s last years.

Before the queen’s tragic death in September 2022, increasing worry at the palace lead to serious consideration of plans for regency so then-Prince Charles could take over the responsibilities.

However, whenever the palace aides came up with a plan for regency, Prince Charles would be "extremely reluctant" to discuss the process, per the Daily Mail.

One palace aide dished: "You could turn up with all the papers and he would say, 'Have you been through it all? Are you happy with this?' and that would be that,” says one. “He didn't want to dwell on the details… I think he felt that if you reach out for something, you are tempting fate.”

The royal aides presented Prince Charles with a variety of plans, including “regency-light” which would require minimal princely involvement, and “reversible regency” if the queen got incapacitated for a short period.

A former aide explained why the need for a regency plan seemed essential: “With the Queen Mother going on past her 100th birthday, of course we had to think that the Queen would reach the same age. A regency seemed almost inevitable. That would have been very difficult.”.

He continued: “You would still have needed a near-full Queen's household and a near-full Prince's household and it would have been very hard for the regent. I always hoped it wouldn't happen while I was there but I didn't see how we could get out of it, to be honest.”

Despite the government's efforts to encourage the prince to come up with a plan, forming a committee and discussing it with Whitehall officials didn’t seem right to Charles.

Queen Elizabeth II ultimately worked “even on her deathbed” and passed away peacefully in Balmoral. King Charles and Queen Camilla were crowned in May 2023.