The queen's eldest son is already king - he is King Charles III. The reign begins the moment the previous monarch dies. It does not wait for the coronation.
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The formal phrase "The king (or in this case, queen) is dead. Long live the king" has not been used for nearly a hundred years - but its idea of continuity remains. There is no interregnum.
King Charles was born in Buckingham Palace in central London on November 14, 1948, so he is 73 years of age. He was the first child of Princess Elizabeth (as she then was) and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. He was baptised a month after his birth by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Because of the Queen's longevity, he has long been a monarch in waiting. In 1969, he was made Prince of Wales and he retained that title for longer than any other prince of Wales.
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In recent years, he has taken on more of the official duties of the Queen as her age has taken its toll. In May, he opened the British parliament for the first time. He stood in for the Queen in a series of ceremonies, including Remembrance Sunday and the Commonwealth Day Service.
He has spent time in Australia. "The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh have agreed that The Prince of Wales should spend a term at Geelong Church of England Grammar School in Australia," was the announcement in October, 1965.
The young prince remembered the experience: "I learnt an enormous amount in Australia and discovered just how direct and friendly and straightforward and so often blunt Australians are'" he said, adding tactfully, "but with such an incredibly good sense of humour."
He also remembered night treks with "leeches and snakes and those enormous bull ants and funnel web spiders. I loved it and I learnt a lot from it."
As his charity, the Prince's Trust Australia, puts it: "It was prime minister Robert Menzies who had suggested Geelong Grammar and especially Timbertop, the school's outward-bound facility in remote foothills 100 miles from Melbourne, as a place Prince Charles, then a shy 17-year-old with no experience of Australia, might appreciate.
"Here pupils learned to fend for themselves, chopping their own wood, cooking their own food and living and working in harmony with the natural environment. The Queen wished her son to be treated like any other school boy. Prince Charles would stay for one term and then he would choose if he would like to stay on for a second. The Prince made the decision after just three weeks to stay on for six months.
"Those two terms studying alongside Australian school boys proved life-changing and sparked the beginning of His Royal Highness's very special relationship with Australia."
The coronation of King Charles may well be months away. His mother's coronation, for example, happened on June 2, 1953, more than a year after she became queen in February, 1952 on the death of her father.
There is no doubt that King Charles is a more divisive figure than Queen Elizabeth was. She kept her views completely to herself.
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King Charles, in contrast, has let his views on the environment and architecture be known. As The Guardian put it: "Charles is a public figure of strong opinions, on almost every subject under the sun. He makes no secret of his views on topics as diverse as climate change, agriculture, alternative medicine, conservation and modern architecture."
He also divided Britain by the way in which his marriage to Princess Diana ended. He was in a relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles who is now formally the Queen Consort. "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," as King Charles' first wife put it.
He ascends the throne when the mystique of monarchy is much diminished compared with what it was when his mother became queen. He is a member of a modern family, with all the strengths and weaknesses of some modern families. They live in the glare of the tabloids.
His task will not be easy.
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Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
