Is it possible for an infant to be king of the United Kingdom?

Question

Say the previous king dies during his reign, and the heir apparent is still an infant. Could the infant skill become king?

Answer 1

Yes, without a doubt. As precedent, Mary Stuart (b. 1542) became Queen of Scotland at six to seven-days-old when her father, James V, died of cholera at age of 30.  James Hamilton, the 2nd Duke of Arran (1515-1575), and next in line for the Scottish throne after Mary, acted as regent until 1554 when the Queen's mother, Mary of Guise, succeeded him, ruling in Mary's stead until the Queen Consort's death in 1560.  

When Mary Queen of Sots was forced to flee Scotland for England, her year-old son, James (VI of Scotland; r. 1566-1625) came to the throne on 24 July 1567.  James' regents governed Scotland during his minority, which officially didn't end until 1578, although James actually didn't gain control until 1581.  In 1603, James VI of Scotland would also become James I of England, ruling both England and Scotland until his death in 1625.

Of course, during the reign of Henry VIII's son, Edward VI (r. 1547 to 1553), which started when Edward was nine-years-old, his maternal uncle, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, governed by edict, until a palace coup toppled him from power; at which point, he was replaced as Regent by John Dudley, Earl of Northumberland.

Answer 2

Not merely that; the child would still become king if his father died while the queen was just pregnant. There would be an interregnum until the baby was born, and it would be king from the first moment it drew breath.

This situation has never actually occurred in Britain, but it did happen in France in 1316; King John I of France lived and reigned for just five days.

Answer 3

Absolutely. But the child would have chancellors and others who would be doing  the acutal reig"work".

Answer 4

The infant would be king but there would be an adult given the job of regent until said infant is of age to reign.The job of regent would go to an adult relative,an uncle or an aunt,or the next adult in line of succession.The job is a temporary one,until the heir is old enough to do the job.

Answer 5

Yes but a regent would be appointed to carry out the duties

Answer 6

Yes, it happened with King Henry VI, who was only an infant when he became King of england.  And Mary, Queen of Scots became Queen of Scotland when she was a newborn baby.

Answer 7

Yes, he could and would become King. This sort of thing happened a lot throughout history, not only in the UK, but also in other monarchies like France. In fact, Louis XIV of France, Europe's longest reigning monarch, became King at age 5. This is, of course, a bit older than an infant, but nonetheless a relevant answer. Of course, the boy-king would have a regent, probably a minister or perhaps the Queen Mother, who would act in his place until he came of age. I hope that helps. Cheers.

Answer 8

Yes.  In fact, it happened many times in history though they appointed regents to rule in the child's stead until the child monarch reached the age of maturity.  Unfortunately, many of these regents ended up usurping the throne themselves by overthrowing the rightful king or queen or, worse, having them executed.  A prominent example would be Richard III of England who was alleged to have locked up and smothered to death the young king and his brother - his nephews - in the Tower.  I imagine in modern times, a regent would appointed to "reign" in the child's stead in a constitutional monarchy and carry out symoblic duties unless the kingdom that needed a regent is an absolute monarchy like Saudi Arabia, for example.