King Charles has only been the monarch for eight months and is yet to be officially crowned but what happens when he dies?

At the moment, Charles is clearly in good health at 74 years old. But, theres a pretty strong chance that he will die and be laid to rest at some point in the future.

And when that occurs, what will happen to his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort ? She is set to be crowned with him on Saturday so does that mean she might get a chance at becoming the sovereign herself?

Heres what you need to know.

What happens when Charles dies?

Immediately, the Operation Menai Bridge a code name for the contingency plan in the event of Charless death kicks in.

While the details are unclear, based on what happened in the 11 days between the Queens death and the moment she was officially laid to rest, the arrangements for Charless formal state funeral would start almost immediately.

In fact, royal protection officer Simon Morgan told Australian show Today back in September that the day after the queens funeral, Operation Menai Bridge preparation will start in earnest.

The U.K. government would be notified, followed by Commonwealth leaders, and a note would soon be attached to the gates of Buckingham Palace, with flags all around the country lowered to half staff.

The new monarch would automatically inherit the throne at the moment of Charless death.

And, after a period of national mourning, Charles would then be laid to rest in the royal vault in King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Who will succeed Charles?

Charles has only been the monarch since his mother Queen Elizabeth IIs death in September.

But, if something were to happen to the sovereign, the crown automatically passes to the next in line. Thats typically the monarchs oldest child.

In this case, Prince William , 40, would inherit the throne thats why he now has the Prince of Wales title, a role usually reserved for the male heir apparent.

If something were to happen to William, the crown would pass to his eldest child Prince George , who is currently second-in-line to the throne.

But at just nine years old, that would clearly present a bit of a problem he clearly couldnt carry out the roles of a constitutional monarch before 18.

So, Prince Harry the next adult in the line of succession, after Georges siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis would probably become Regent until his nephew was old enough.

As the parliament website explains: In a regency, a Regent is appointed to act on the monarchs behalf.

A Regency applies if a monarch succeeds to the throne before the age of 18, or if a monarch becomes permanently incapacitated due to infirmity of mind or body.

That would probably throw up a whole new bunch of problems though, considering Harry has made it painfully clear how little he enjoys royal life and protocol (and stepped down from life as a working royal back in 2020).