Royal Expert Believes Prince George Will Never Be King. Here's Why

Despite being so young, Prince George is pretty close to the throne. The youngster — who's the son of Prince William and Kate Middleton — is third in the line of succession when it comes to the British royal family, poised to become the main monarch after his great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, his grandfather, Prince Charles, and his dad all abdicate the throne.

George's sister, Princess Charlotte, has also kept her position in line to the throne behind her brother, even after their sibling, Prince Louis, was born. She benefitted from a rule change the queen put in place for her great-grandchildren, as, back in 2013, Charlotte became the first female royal in history to make use of The Succession to the Crown Act. The act ensured women in the royal family would not lose their position in line to the throne because a sibling born after them is a male. Prior to that, males would always be given priority, pushing females down the pecking order.

But while it seems like the royals are definitely doing all they can to protect the line of succession that goes back centuries, one royal expert isn't so convinced things will last much longer the way they are — and she has some pretty interesting reasoning behind her controversial opinion. Keep on scrolling for the details.

In an opinion the royal family may want to cover their ears for, royal expert and author Hilary Mantel has claimed she believes there could be nothing left of the royals as we know them by the time it comes turn for Prince George to take his turn on the throne. Yep, it turns out she doesn't think their rule will last. 

Mantel told The Times in an interview published on September 11, "It's very hard to understand the thinking behind the monarchy in the modern world when people are just seen as celebrities," with her "back of the envelope" guess being that it could all come crashing down within the life span of two generations.

But while she didn't have the most optimistic view of the royals' future, she added that she believes Queen Elizabeth II and her son, Prince Charles, have been serving as figureheads "as well as anyone possibly could" and believes they both "take it as seriously as anyone could." Speaking about George's dad, Prince William, the "Wolf Hall" writer added, "He is a very deep thinking man and I am sure that includes thinking about his role and what it still means, even though he'd be a king in a modern world. Kingship is so ancient and it has a dimension of holiness."

It seems like the ball's in the royals' court to prove Mantel wrong...