Now the Queen has died, Charles will be King. Here's what will happen to the British monarchy.

• Following Queen Elizabeth II's death, her eldest son Charles became the King of England.

• Charles intends to downsize the monarchy during his reign, according to reports.

• He also plans to change the royal family's residence at Buckingham Palace.

Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday.

Buckingham Palace announced that the 96-year-old British monarch had died peacefully at Balmoral.

The Queen's eldest son, Charles, automatically ascended to the throne. Charles will have a coronation around a year after her death, as Insider previously reported. He will be known as King Charles III, according to the BBC.

The royal family has not had a new ruler in 70 years, as the Queen took over in 1952 following King George's death.

As Insider previously reported, Charles has been preparing to be King for some time, taking on greater responsibilities in recent years as his mother aged.

The new King has plans to update the monarchy for the modern world during his reign.

Charles intends to downsize the monarchy, according to reports

The Telegraph and Tatler reported in April of 2021 that Charles planned to enact a "slimming down" of the monarchy when he took the throne.

The royal family's website lists 22 highest-ranking members of the royal family in its line of succession at the time of writing.

But the King plans to decrease the number of senior members of the royal family to as few as seven people, as Insider's Mikhaila Friel previously reported.

The King could want to downsize the monarchy for multiple reasons, according to The Times.

A smaller group of senior royals would save the monarchy money, as fewer people would be funded by the sovereign grant, the public funds that support the working royals.

The Times also noted that a larger monarchy creates a less streamlined press presence, as individual royal houses "are left to operate in their 'own silos,' regardless of the impact on the institution."

By making the monarchy smaller, the institution would have greater control over the messaging that goes out to the public on behalf of the royal family.

Royal commentator Kinsey Schofield told Insider that the slimmed-down monarchy will likely include the King; Camilla, who will become Queen Consort; the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge; Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex; and Anne, Princess Royal.

"While these are all individuals that will be out in the future representing the crown, I think Charles will try to draw attention to himself, Camilla, and the Cambridge family as the future of the monarchy," Schofield told Insider.

The Queen announced that she wanted the Duchess of Cornwall to be known as Queen Consort following her husband's ascension to the throne on the eve of her platinum jubilee.

Charles has suggested he will honor the Queen's wishes, according to Richard Palmer, a royal correspondent at the Daily Express.

The King also reportedly plans to make the royal residence at Buckingham Palace smaller

In October of 2021, a source told the Mail on Sunday's Kate Mansey that the King plans to reduce the Buckingham Palace royal residence from 52 rooms to a single apartment once he ascends the throne.

The source said the residence "will be a much more modest flat-above-the-shop situation akin to that of the prime minister at Downing Street."

They added that the King wants to change the function of all of the royal residences to ensure they "deliver something for the public beyond just being somewhere for members of the royal family to live."

However, the source also pointed out that it's important for the members of the monarchy to retain some living space in these residences, as they can become tourist destinations rather than homes when they aren't lived in, like Hampton Court Palace, where King Henry VIII once lived.

Another source told the Mail on Sunday that the King is considering turning Balmoral, where the Queen spent her summers, into a museum as a tribute to her after her death.

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