Why did Queen Elizabeth II name her eldest son Charles?

These days it's fairly rare in the UK for monarchs to use their real first name as their regnal name. Elizabeth does, but when she was born it was never expected that she would be queen anyway. read more

Charles, of course, is certainly a descendant of the Scottish royal house of Stuart, just not through an unbroken paternal line (it has been broken three times, by Queen Mary II, Queen Victoria, and Queen Elizabeth II). read more

According to a new report, reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth, 89, has named her 33-year-old grandson — not her eldest son and next heir to the throne, Prince Charles, 67 — as her royal successor. Charles, Elizabeth and William in June 2012. read more