The royal family’s social media accounts have already changed to reflect their new titles following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen died peacefully at her home in Balmoral, Scotland on Thursday at the age of 96 after serving 70 years on the throne, the longest reign of any monarch in the nation’s history. Her eldest son Charles has succeeded his mother as King Charles III, with his wife Camilla taking on the role as Queen Consort.
As titles within the royal family have shifted since the Queen’s death, their social media accounts have also been updated to show the new line of succession.
Shortly after the Queen’s death was announced, the official @KensingtonRoyal Twitter account and the @dukeandduchessofcambridge Instagram account, both belonging to Prince William and Kate Middleton, were updated to display their new titles as The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge.
As King Charles III made his first address to the United Kingdom on Friday, the British monarch named his eldest son and heir, William, Prince of Wales.
“With Catherine beside him, our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know, continue to inspire and lead our national conversations, helping to bring the marginal to the centre ground where vital help can be given,” he added.
Prince William and Kate Middleton were awarded the title of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after their wedding in 2011. Now, the royal couple will be known as both the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Following the King’s address, the @KensingtonRoyal Twitter account was then changed to display “The Prince and Princess of Wales”. Meanwhile, the @dukeandduchessofcambridge Instagram page is no longer active, and has been transferred over to the @princeandprincessofwales account.
However, no changes have been made yet to the official social media account @ClarenceHouse, which belongs to the former Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. Both the Clarence House Twitter and Instagram accounts still reflect the King and Queen Consort’s previous titles – The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall – prior to the Queen’s death.
Following the social media update, many online users pointed out that the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge immediately changed their social media handles, while the King’s remains the same. Some people found this move to be a bit hasty, while others simply found it disrespectful.
“I’m a bit surprised the British Royal Family’s Communications teams didn’t coordinate this better,” one user tweeted. “Kensington Palace should have waited for Clarence House to make the change to Cornwall.”
“It was kind of shocking how quickly they claimed the Cornwall title online. The body isn’t even cold yet,” another person said.
“They couldn’t even wait a few minutes for Clarence House to get it changed on their site,” someone else pointed out.
Prior to being named King Charles III, the monarch was given the title of Prince of Wales at age 10 by the Queen, a title that is historically bestowed to the heir apparent.
The royal family’s social media accounts weren’t the only changes to be made following the Queen’s death. The official website of the royal family has also been updated, with Charles now listed as His Majesty The King.
While he will not be formally proclaimed King until an Accession Council is held at St James’s Palace in London on Saturday, the site royal.uk has already listed Charles as King, with his wife Camilla officially listed as Queen Consort.
