Prince George Alexander Louis: What kind of Britain will Royal baby reign over? By Dominic Sandbrook The date is July 2081 and Britain is in mourning. After a long and happy reign, old King William is at rest. No sooner had the news been announced, however, than all eyes turned to his successor A year short of his centenary and after a long and happy reign, old King William is at rest. No sooner had the news been announced, however, than all eyes turned to his successor. The new monarch has been waiting for this moment for decades. Yet at the age of 68, King George is younger than millions of his subjects. Indeed, these days, even 70 counts as middle-aged. Our brand new sovereign has lived through an age of staggering change. It almost beggars belief that when he was born on July 22, 2013, people still carried plastic bank cards and paper money. Tens of millions actually owned their own cars; many even had more than one. To modern eyes, Britain in 2013 looks a strange and backward place. Most people stayed the same gender all their lives. Millions thought nothing of holidaying abroad by air, which seems almost unimaginable. They carried little phones to conduct their conversations, installed primitive TV screens in their homes and were even allowed to drink as much alcohol as they liked. To young people in 2081, it must seem bizarre that in the month of our new King's birth, people were transfixed by the victory of a home contender in an obscure sporting tournament called Wimbledon. What really amazes youngsters, though, is that the match was played outdoors, rather than in a digital alternative reality. Still, I imagine today's Britain would seem pretty strange to a time-traveller from 2013. Who would have thought Milton Keynes would become the most populous city in the country, Polish would become our official second language and we would go almost 30 years without a male prime minister? Some things, of course, have changed remarkably little. We never did learn to refer to Queen Kate as Catherine and she still cuts an admirably stylish figure in her widow's weeds, even at the age of 99. The monarchy survives, too, even though it looks very different than it did in 2013. When the Lab-Lib Coalition scrapped the Civil List in the mid-2030s, King Charles was forced to sell Buckingham Palace to the Emir of Qatar. From then on the decline was inexorable and though our new King's flat in the Barbican is pleasant enough, it is an almighty comedown since the days of castles and palaces. The survival of the monarchy is something of a miracle. Twice in the past 40 years a government has held referendums on its abolition; on both occasions, though, the British people voted to keep it. The United Kingdom is less united than ever. Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Cornwall have their independent prime ministers and set their own budgets, their autonomy guaranteed under the Twenty-Third Amendment to the European Constitution. The monarchy's survived, though it looks very different to how it did in 2013. When the Lab-Lib Coalition scrapped the Civil List in the mid-2030s, Charles was forced to sell Buckingham Palace to the Emir of Qatar It is odd to think that our new monarch's great-grandmother, Elizabeth II, once ruled an empire that stretched across the oceans. Today, we do not even have our own seat at the United Nations, being represented by an EU ambassador who hails from Luxembourg. Our European masters take great umbrage when British commentators make mordant remarks about the Reich, but the truth is that Germany has called the shots in Europe for the past 80 years. Indeed, no EU Chancellor has been elected in the past half- century without winning Germany's 45 electoral college votes. By contrast, it says it all that Britain has backed the losing candidate six times in a row. Secession from the EU, however, is unthinkable; indeed, it is prohibited under the most recent Constitution. Economically, it is probably too late. Britain has been in the euro for almost 60 years, our monetary policy dictated by the Germans. Anti-European sentiments are often heard, but rarely acted upon. When the Faragist Party briefly won power in 2066, it was rapidly brought down by pressure from Berlin. Britain's international role is not the only thing that has changed. All change: Britain has been in the euro for almost 60 years, our monetary policy dictated by the Germans It is odd to think that when William and Kate's son was born in 2013, there was still a single country called the United States, stretching from the Canadian border to the Rio Grande. As we know, California broke away in 2038, the Mexican Empire seized four former U.S. states in the North American War of 2054, and Florida became independent five years later. This left a power vacuum in the Pacific, and ever since Japan's defeat in the Great Eastern War in the mid-2060s, China has stood supreme. For military and diplomatic clout, only India, Mexico and Brazil can compete with Beijing, with the Europeans trailing a long way behind. It is not hard to see why Europe's international star has fallen so far. Here in Britain, for example, the Royal Navy and RAF were closed down ten years ago. The stark truth is that after decades of non-existent growth, we simply cannot afford guns and butter. And with our population ageing by the year, the burdens on the Exchequer are heavier than ever. It is almost incredible to think that, in 2013, we spent just 20 per cent of our national budget on pensions, 18 per cent on healthcare and 17 per cent on welfare. At the time, some warned that without serious reform those numbers would only escalate. And, of course, they were right. Fallen star: Secession from the EU is unthinkable; indeed, it is prohibited under the most recent Constitution Today, pensions account for 32 per cent of British government spending, while the NHS accounts for another 24 per cent. Welfare takes up a further 22 per cent. No surprise, then, that tax rates are so high, with a top rate of income tax set at 93 per cent and VAT at 33 per cent. And when you factor in green taxes, which were introduced in the late 2010s and have continued to rise ever since, it is little wonder many firms have long since relocated to the Far East. Meanwhile, much of Britain feels backward and dilapidated. Our state schools have been starved of funds for decades - as a result, the gulf between state and private yawns wider than ever. Our public universities, too, have fallen well below the levels of their Chinese and Indian competitors - let alone private institutions such as Oxford and Cambridge, which broke away from the state system in the 2030s and charge students more than €120,000 a year. The roads are in a dreadful state - then again, it hardly matters. Most people can't afford to run a car, partly because it costs €10,000 a year for a government permit, but also because electricity prices are so high. No one has driven a petrol car for decades. Gay marriage: Many feel obliged to get married in recognition of the long struggle for gay marriage, which explains why David Cameron House is the country's most popular wedding venue There are benefits. With private traffic largely outlawed, our city centres are clean and quiet. But the burden on the train network is almost intolerable - not least because various governments have still not decided, despite decades of wrangling, on the precise route for the proposed HS2 line. All parties talk a lot about the environment, but with our population rapidly approaching 100 million - thanks partly to immigration from new EU member states such as Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon - most of the greenbelt disappeared years ago. In this age of global warming, homes rely on solar power. One thing that has not changed, alas, is the inevitable rain, which falls more heavily than ever. Thanks to the ageing population, home ownership is declining. In 2013, 64 per cent of the population owned their houses; today, the figure is just 47 per cent. Other habits that people once took for granted have largely disappeared. The handful of surviving pubs cater mainly for tourists, few people under the age of 60 drink tea and many traditional dishes, such as fish and chips, shepherd's pie and spotted dick, have been outlawed by European health legislation. Our new monarch is unusual, meanwhile, in having remained happily married all his adult life. Today, fewer than one in ten couples bother to get married - and, by a strange historical quirk, most tend to be gay couples. Indeed, many feel obliged to get married in recognition of the long struggle for gay marriage, which explains why David Cameron House (formerly Chipping Norton town hall, but renamed on the death of the late prime minister, in whose old constituency it stands) is the country's most popular wedding venue. Everyday technology, meanwhile, has changed beyond recognition. TVs and phones have gone the way of the dodo; today, every child is fitted at birth with a Google chip, allowing them to access the internet at the blink of an eye - literally. Of course, this has created problems. Teachers complain that many children spend their schooldays watching films with one eye and tweeting with the other, while there have been problems with MPs watching pornographic videos surreptitiously in the House of Commons. By law, all internet activity is monitored by the National Surveillance Agency in the gigantic Leveson Building. TVs and phones have gone the way of the dodo; today, every child is fitted at birth with a Google chip, allowing them to access the internet at the blink of an eye - literally Unfortunately, it is impossible for any agency - even with more than 65,000 full-time employees - to watch everything, and domestic terrorism has blighted life for years. Such is the gulf between leaders and the led that political extremism continues to flourish. In the past few years there have been anarchist bomb attacks in the cities of Leeds, Stevenage and Reading, while the rebuilding of Canterbury Cathedral - which was blown up by atheists in 2062 - seems to have stalled. The few remaining bastions of Britain's Press struggle to hold the Government to account, but since all but a few newspapers have long since disappeared, most people get their information from Downing Street's Twitter account. On the surface, then, it's a pretty depressing picture. Back in 2013, few could have imagined that things would change so much or that so many things they took for granted would be swept away. And yet, deep down, I wonder whether the British character has changed as much as we think. Now a monarch, born only 13 years into the 21st century, is poised to write a new chapter in our national story and lead us into the 2100s Affection for the monarchy seems stronger than ever, with millions expected to line the streets for next year's Coronation of King George. Our international standing is vastly reduced since our Victorian heyday. Yet we are still the same cussed, cheerful, argumentative, grumpy people we always were, even if few of our habits would make sense to our ancestors. We still chafe under the rule of our inept politicians, shake our fists at our Continental neighbours and love to complain that the country is going to the dogs. Now a monarch, born only 13 years into the 21st century, is poised to write a new chapter in our national story and lead us into the 2100s. It is tempting, of course, to wonder what Britain will be like when his reign comes to an end some time in the 22nd century. But I will refrain from idle speculation about Britain in the distant, space age future. After all, I would be bound to get it wrong.