'I'm a big royalist but King Charles should not be on the throne

The former footballer has forthright views on the issue.

Prince Charles shouldn't be on the throne, according to Vinnie Jones (Image: Getty)

Former football hard man Vinnie Jones believes King Charles should have let the Prince of Wales take the throne instead. The former Wimbledon and Leeds player, who struck fear into rival midfielders in the 1980s and 90s, is a staunch royalist. However, he doesn't think Charles should have replaced Queen Elizabeth II as monarch following their death at 96 in 2022. Jones believes Charles and Queen Camilla should have stepped aside because they are both divorcees. Until 2002, divorced individuals were barred from marrying into the Royal Family. When the rule was changed, it paved the way for Charles to wed his long-term partner in 2005.

However, traditionalist Jones reckons the edict should have been maintained, despite changing times. The former Wales international made his feelings clear on The Louis Theroux Podcast.

"I'm a massive royalist, you know. I support the royals massively," he told Theroux, who asked whether Jones should have got a tattoo of King Charles rather than Winston Churchill.

Jones replied: "No, you see, I think he went against the grain. I think they moved the goalpost for him with Camilla, and I'm a William and Kate supporter now.

Vinnie Jones — Jones doesn't think divorcees should be on the throne (Image: Getty)

He added: "I think they've done it right. It's a tradition. I'm a right traditionalist. I love tradition." Theroux asked: "You think they should've barred him from taking the throne because he married a divorcee?"

Vinnie said: "Well, they moved the goalpost, didn't they? They moved the rules. They changed the rules."

When Theroux put it to him that "times change, rules change," Jones admitted: "And I am a big example of that, Louis. I'm not going to knock the rules because I've knocked them all my life.

"But to be fair, I was hoping that he would have done the right thing and said, 'Thank you very much. We're going to step aside,' and William, Kate are going to be the king and queen.' That, to me, was my Britain."

Princess and Prince of Wales — Jones would like to see William and Kate as King and Queen (Image: Getty)

Jones successfully moved into the acting world after retiring from football, usually playing a hard man or enforcer. He has appeared in more than 70 films and major television projects, including Guy Ritchie's Netflix series The Gentlemen.

Following the death of his wife Tanya from cancer in 2019, he became an open advocate for mental health and grief support. He swapped Los Angeles for the English countryside, purchasing a 2,000-acre estate in West Sussex.

Jones now focuses heavily on nature conservation and rural renovations, a lifestyle showcased in his Discovery+ documentary series, Vinnie Jones in the Country. Theroux also interviews Tyson Fury, Hollywood director Judd Apatow and Monty Python star Eric Idle on the new series of his podcast.