LONDON — Prince Charles has spent a lifetime waiting to be king. On Friday the 69-year-old heir to the British throne got another position to wait for – he was approved as the next head of the Commonwealth made up of the U.K. and the countries that once were its colonies.
Commonwealth leaders meeting in London confirmed that the next chief of the 53-nation group “shall be His Royal Highness Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales.” That won’t happen until he succeeds his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, as monarch when she dies.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said the decision was unanimous, although it had not been a foregone conclusion.
Elizabeth, who turns 92 on Saturday, has led the Commonwealth since she became queen in 1952. However, the position is not hereditary, and some people have suggested a non-royal leader would give the group of nations a more modern profile.
But any opposition was squelched by the queen, who told the gathered leaders in person Thursday it was her “sincere wish” that Charles would one day carry on her Commonwealth work.
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