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Queen Elizabeth II was born in 1926, the eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York. After her uncle King Edward VIII decided to abdicate, then-Princess Elizabeth’s father ascended the throne as King George VI.

At the time of King George VI’s accession, the monarchy in Britain was based on a system of male-preference primogeniture.

Therefore it was always assumed George’s eldest daughter would only be considered heir to the throne in the absence of a son.

Had King George VI and the Queen Mother had a son, he would have replaced Elizabeth in the line of succession, despite the fact Elizabeth was the eldest of her father’s children.

King George VI never had a son, so Elizabeth was known as heiress presumptive from the age of 10.

The age Elizabeth became heir to the throne has interesting parallels to the situation of her own son, Prince Charles.

Prince Charles has actually been heir to the throne since the age of three, as his mother became Queen in 1952.

But Prince Charles was formally declared heir to the throne in 1958, when he was appointed Prince of Wales.

Like his mother, Charles inherited the responsibility of being heir to the throne at a very early stage in his life.

Charles was only nine-years-old when he was given the title of Prince of Wales, a title which he has now held longer than any other Prince in history.

The Prince of Wales title has been given to the male heir to the throne for centuries, as the title is not automatically given to the next in line to the throne.

The Queen formally invested Charles as Prince of Wales in 1969, although he had held the title for a while before this.

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The Constitution Unit at UCL explained how the title works: “Charles was created Prince of Wales in 1958 when he was aged 10, with an investiture at Caernarvon Castle in 1969.

“As an adult, Prince William might expect to become Prince of Wales soon after his father’s accession; but that will be a matter for the new King to decide because, strictly, the title is not heritable.”

When Charles is King, he will likely pass the Prince of Wales title onto Prince William.

When Prince William is King, his eldest son Prince George is also likely to hold the title too.

The Queen never held the title of Princess of Wales, as the title can only be given to a man.

The only Princesses of Wales in history have been the wives of the Prince of Wales.

Lady Diana Spencer became Princess of Wales when she married Prince Charles in 1981.

Camilla Parker-Bowles also received the title when she married Prince Charles in 2005, but she does not use the title publicly out of respect for Princess Diana.

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