Why is there a approximately a 1 year gap between a monarch dying and the successor acceeding to the throne?

Answer 1

The heir to the British throne accedes immediately on the death of the monarch. When King George V died in his bed at Sandringham, in January 1936, the scene was attended by his sons, and the Prime Minister, and the Archbishop of Canterbury as well as by his doctors. After the doctors had pronounced the King dead, almost the first thing that happened was that the new king was acknowledged and paid homage to by his brothers, and the Prime Minister, and the Archbishop.

Parliament sits in the monarch's name, and automatically goes "into recession" on their death. It is then powerless until it is re-opened in the name of the new monarch. This is his first public duty after accession, usually the very next day.

A Coronation usually takes place between Easter and late July, but it takes a lot of arranging and inviting, as other answerers have pointed out. So if a monarch died in, say, mid-September, it would be too late for a July Coronation the next year, and if Easter was in late April the year after, it would be May before the Coronation - 20 months. But the last two Coronations have been about 16 months after the previous monarch's death. When Edward VIII abdicated, they just stuck to the date they were already working to.

Answer 2

There is no gap. When one monarch breathes their last breath, the new monarch accedes to the throne, Hence the expression, The King is Dead, Long Live The King.
I presume you are talking about the Coronation, the official crowning and anointing of the Sovereign. This takes more than a year to organise as it is a major constitutional, ceremonial and religious operation involving massive amounts of organising, rehearsing and getting Heads of State from all over the world to attend. You know the British, if its worth doing, its worth doing properly!

Answer 3

Well, there isn't - I think you mean the delay before the actual coronation - there has to be the funeral and mourning for the deceased monarch, then the coronation takes a lot of organising. But as someone pointed out, I think it was Terry Pratchet, Monarchy is the only thing that travels faster than light, because it transfers to the successor the very instant the monarch dies!

Answer 4

In my country the monarch retires (abdicates) when they are about 70 years old and the inauguration (in the Netherlands Kings and Queens are not crowned) is the official transfer of "power". There is no "waiting period".

The last time a Dutch monarch died while still on the job was in 1890. King Willem III died and the only one of his children who was still alive at the time was his 10 year old daughter Wilhelmina. Her inauguration took place when she was 18, so there was a gap of 8 years because she was still underage. Her mother Emma ruled as queen-regent (but she was never crowned or inaugurated) until her daughter turned 18.

Queen Wilhelmina abdicated after 50 years (aged 68) and after her retirement she lived for another 14 years. Her daughter Queen Juliana abdicated in 1980 (aged 71) and died in 2004.

Our current monarch Queen Beatrix is 68 but I haven't heared a thing about her retirement yet.

Answer 5

Probably to allow for a period of mourning the dead monarch and to prepare for the next coronation--if you've ever planned even a small party, you know how much it takes, and something like the crowning of a new king or queen (or both) is exponentially harder.

Answer 6

Well you learn something new every day. The hier to the throne is immediately the next monarch on the death of the previous one but they are not crowned until the coronation. This clearly takes alot of time to arrange and prepare. Edward VIII was king but he was never crowned King it went to his brother George VI after his abdecation.

Answer 7

Takes a bit of sortin out, getting an archbishop with a window in his schedule, suitable church, cleaning up the state coach, getting robes mde altered, selling the TV rights, especially difficult if you have an ugly monarch like old Jug ears and a consort like Camel features.
Actually the take over of duties is instant it is the Coronation ceremony which takes a year and as in the case of Ted 8 the new bloke might not fancy it and abdicate before getting crowned.
Lets hope jug ears stands aside and let someone photgenic like billy the kid do it.

Answer 8

The successor accedes immediately. It's the coronation that takes time.

Answer 9

It is out of respect for the dead monarch, a period of mourning.

Answer 10

Not that long a gap.