When Prince William ascends the throne, he will become the second-tallest measured monarch in British history.
The first-in-line is 6 ft 3in (191cm), putting him above the rest of his family members.
His father, King Charles, is 5 ft 10 in (178cm), the same height as the late Diana, Princess of Wales. William’s wife, Princess Kate, also stands tall at 5 ft 9 in (175cm).
Royal commentator Wesley Kerr noted in Tatler: “His height puts him in the top four English kings in history alongside Edward I, Edward IV and Charles II.”
The tallest British monarchs
Edward I reigned from 1272 until 1307 and was also known as ‘Edward Longshanks’ or ‘the Hammer of the Scots’, standing at a respectable height of 6 ft 2 in (188cm), which was highly unusual for the time.
The Merry Monarch, Charles II, ruled from 1630 to 1685. When he was four months old, his mother complained he looked like he was one year old. He too was 6ft 2 in, and was already fighting in battles aged 12.
The tallest British monarch was Edward IV at 6 ft 4½ in (194cm). When suited and booted in armour, the King would have stood at roughly 6 ft 7 in. Edward ruled for nearly 22 years from 1461 to 1483, with a brief gap in 1470 when he was deposed for six months.
Wesley called the Prince “warm, charming and respectful to everyone,” saying: “William is maybe a new kind of leader who can keep the monarchy relevant and resonant in the coming decades.”
© GettyThe shortest British monarchs
As for the more vertically challenged monarchs, coming in first place was Queen Victoria at a neat 5 ft 0 in (1.52 m). An American visitor to London described her as a “pleasing lady-like little woman”.
Height was a sore spot for the shortest king, Charles I, who reigned from 1625 to 1649. At 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) he made sure to wear high-heeled shoes and was always painted to create the illusion of height. He became a head shorter when he was executed by Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians.
What William will be known as once he’s King
So what will William be called when he takes the throne?
Sunday Times royal editor and broadcaster Roya Nikkhah was a guest on HELLO!‘s A Right Royal Podcast last year and said of the future King: “He will be William (V) for sure. When he launched Earthshot he was the Duke of Cambridge, but he called himself Prince William. And that’s because he’s keen to be known as Prince William, because the Americans know and love him as Prince William, they love him above all other public figures, according to a recent poll.”
© GettyRoya was quick to explain the differences between William as a monarch compared to his predecessor: “He’ll be a very radical monarch. The monarchy will look very different quite quickly. He will change a lot.”
How William’s role is already changing
With wife Princess Kate and father King Charles recovering from cancer, the responsibility has fallen more heavily on Prince William’s shoulders over the weeks as he aims to be there for his family and continue to carry out royal duties.
© GettyHowever, in another episode of HELLO!‘s A Right Royal Podcast, author Ingrid Seward explained how the King gave his son permission to spend more time with his family, while his wife was recovering from abdominal surgery, and as we now know, processing her cancer diagnosis.
“I think Charles has encouraged William to spend more time with the family and also said to William, ‘I don’t want you to take on any royal duties until you absolutely have to’ because you remember we criticised William the work-shy?
“And that was his father very much saying, ‘You don’t have to do this, be with your young family. Enjoy it while you can. You’ve got years and years and years of royal duties to do.'”
