Hilary Mantel says Prince George will never be king

Hilary Mantel says she doesn’t think Prince George will be king  (Getty Images)
Hilary Mantel says she doesn’t think Prince George will be king (Getty Images)

Hilary Mantel said she doesn’t think Prince George will ever sit on the throne in England.

She has been fully immersed in writing about the Tudors in her Wolf Hall trilogy series but she is no fan of the monarchy.

The historical fiction novelist, 69, claimed her “back of the envelope” guess is the royal family could be gone in two generations.

She told The Times: “I think it’s a fair prediction, but let’s say I wouldn’t put money on it. It’s hard to understand the thinking behind the monarchy in the modern world when people are just seen as celebrities.”

Of the Queen and Prince Charles, she said: “I think they do it as well as anyone possibly could, take it as seriously as anyone could.”

Unable to resist, she weighed in on the fallout from Meghan and Prince Harry quitting their royal duties to lead a new life across the pond.

She added: “I’ve tried to keep out of the Meghan thing because I think it’s far too soon to have an opinion. And anyway, all of us commentators are part of the problem. I’d like us all to say less. And let them have a chance to find some resolution.”

It comes after the writer said she was ashamed of Britain and moving to Ireland.

Admittedly the Booker Prize winner said she is surprised about the popularity of the monarchy in England.

She told La Repubblica: “The popularity of monarchy as an institution is something that baffles me.

“I don’t want to think that people are naturally slavish, and actually enjoy inequality.

“I might breathe easier in a republic and may be able to arrange it. I hope to loop back into my family story and become an Irish citizen.”

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