William inherits King Charles’ old title as he steps into new role amid grief over Queen’s death

The former Duke of Cambridgehas become the heir apparentfollowing the death of his grandmother, Elizabeth II, and the accession of his father, King Charles.

Now first in line to the throne, William’s role within the royal family will change significantly, with him dutifully stepping up despite his grief.

Changes to royal social media accounts and websites were made swiftly in the hours following the Queen's death, with the former Cambridges' Instagram account being rebranded as 'the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge'.  

As heir apparent he is a step closer to become sovereign himself, and preparations for this role and likely to intensity almost immediately, potentially even while he is still a period of mourning

In this new role he will be required to carry out many more official engagements, both at home and abroad. And will be expected to show firm support of the new monarch, his father.

William is decades older than his father was when he became heir to the throne, with the new King being just three years old when his grandfather died and he became the Prince of Wales.

Due to this, William has had a much more gradual introduction to the role, spending time as an RAF search and rescue pilot and later as a pilot for the East Anglian Air Ambulance.

He only became a full-time royal at the age of 35 in 2017, when he stepped down from his air ambulance role.

William has focused much of his charitable work on mental health, particularly trying to break the stigma surrounding men’s mental health.

He suffered trauma in his childhood with the sudden death of his motherDiana, Princess of Wales, in a car crash.

Charles, who is the longest-serving heir to the throne in British history, inherited the role in 1952.

He was made the Prince of Wales and the Earl of Chester by the Queen in 1958 when he was nine, and was invested as the Prince of Wales in 1969 at the age of 20.

William is expected to, but does not automatically, become the Prince of Wales.

It is up to the new king to decide whether to, or when to, confer the title created for the male heir to the throne.

William has immediately inherited the title the Duke of Cornwall and is now the Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge, with Kate now the Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, and their children also becoming “of Cornwall and Cambridge”.

George is now second in line to the throne, Charlotte third, and Louis fourth, with Harry once again fifth in line.

William’s wifeKate Middletonis now a queen consort in waiting and will play a key role as one of the Windsors’ most senior women.

When William is made the Prince of Wales as expected, Kate will be the Princess of Wales – the title last used by the duke’s mother, Diana.

In a rather bittersweet occurrence William’s financial situation has changed substantially.

As the 25th Duke of Cornwall, he is entitled to the annual net surplus from the Duchy of Cornwall landed estate – which comes to £23 million a year.

The income will cover the cost of both his public and private life.

He already received money from the duchy through his father, but now, as heir to the throne, he is entitled to take over its management.

The landed estate is valued at more than £1 billion and is one of the largest and oldest in Britain.

As heir apparent, William has also automatically inherited the titles – under a 1469 Act of the Scottish Parliament – the Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

The Earl of Chester, an earldom created by William the Conqueror, is not automatically inherited, but is usually also given to the heir apparent.

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