Charles or George?

This would be very interesting.

AFP: Britain's Prince Charles wants to be King George: paper---

LONDON (AFP) - Prince Charles has reportedly discussed rejecting the title King Charles III when he accedes to the throne because of its associations with Britain's bloody past.

"There have been many conversations with the Prince about this. It is an assumption among us all that it will happen," one of two unnamed "trusted friends" told the Times newspaper.

The other was quoted as saying: "They (the Royal Family) will decide at the time, but he has talked about George."

Prince Charles -- whose full name is Charles Philip Arthur George -- is said to favour the title George VII when he takes over from his mother, the current Queen Elizabeth II.

George VI, who died in 1952, was the queen's father who took over unexpectedly after his brother Edward VIII adbicated over his relationship with an American divorcee.

The Times said the move away from Charles stems from its associations with Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649 following the English Civil War at the start of Oliver Cromwell's short-lived republic.

The executed monarch's son, Charles II, spent 18 years in exile and returned to Britain in 1660 but was nicknamed "The Merry Monarch" because of his string of mistresses.

Charles is also associated with the Catholic Bonnie Prince Charlie, an enduring Scottish romantic figure, who claimed the throne in the 18th century. A spokesman for Clarence House, Prince Charles's official London residence, was quoted as saying: "One of the questions that we have asked is what he (Charles) will be known as. The decision will be taken at the time."

The move would not be a first: in the 19th century, queen Victoria was born Alexandrina Victoria while Edward VIII was referred to in royal circles as Prince David.

I have long had a keen interest in Bonnie Prince Charlie and the "Glorious '45" Jacobite Rebellion.

And George III is the King after whom the Georgian Age is named. He was declared insane and his son, George, aka Prinny, reigned as the Prince Regent for about 10 years, giving the name to the Regency, my favorite time of history.