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THE CROWN PASSES TO KING CHARLES III WP Opinion ... Post Elizabeth: God Save the King 
British King Charles III arrives at Westminster Abbey with other members of the royal family for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday. (James Forde for The Washington Post) Original article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/20/post-elizabeth-newsletter-king-charles-challenges/ Peter Burgess COMMENTARY Peter Burgess | ||
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Opinion Post Elizabeth: God Save the King
By Autumn Brewington ... Associate opinions editor September 20, 2022 at 3:34 p.m. EDT LONDON — Britain’s diamond-encrusted, ermine-trimmed Imperial State Crown weighs 2.3 pounds. (“You can’t look down” while wearing it, Queen Elizabeth II once warned; “if you did your neck would break.”) But the pressures weighing on King Charles III are now more than just physical. Sign up for a weekly roundup of thought-provoking ideas and debates Ten days of national mourning and a global outpouring of affection for his mother have some thinking about casting her as Elizabeth the Great. After 73 years as heir, Charles is well trained for the top job. But the laws of mortality alone suggest he will not have a particularly long reign. And his first comments about how he sees his role suggest he may not attempt to greatly differentiate himself from her example. Elizabeth took steps to smooth the path for Charles’s accession, including saying that his wife, Camilla, should be known as queen consort. Criticism of the decision to elevate Camilla was undercut chiefly because it was Elizabeth’s call. But debates over colonialism and the legacy of monarchy are likely to grow. From the Caribbean to the South Pacific, attitudes vary, ranging from respectful to outright hostile. Becoming king in a 24/7 digital era, Charles is expected to be even more public-facing than his mother. So far, he appears to enjoy the engagement. But he’s also had less princely moments — over, of all things, leaky pens and ink pots, that earned jeers on social media. One uncertainty: Might Charles alienate the public inadvertently, perhaps by sharing social or political opinions? Here’s another: Will more family drama — a memoir by his son Prince Harry is still in the works — tilt the Windsors back into soap opera territory? Historically, coronations take place about 15 months after a new monarch ascends the British throne. That won’t be the case here. Mourning periods have become much shorter than in generations past; a year used to be the standard for a deceased monarch. Other changes with time, including advances in technology, mean that it simply won’t take as long to build the infrastructure for the crowning ceremony. There’s also a risk in waiting: Public affection toward Charles jumped after the queen’s death, and he’ll want to capitalize on that. The longer he waits for the pageantry of a coronation, the more time critics will have to suggest that the crown skip a generation or perhaps disappear altogether. (By law, the crown can’t skip to Prince William — but that doesn’t change the reality that Charles’s eldest son has long been more popular than his dad.) I suspect that coronation plans will be announced soon, with a ceremony likely in the next 90 days. Disagree? Tweet at me (@Autumnsan1) if you have other estimates. For now, we’ll be in your inboxes again next week — sooner, of course, if news breaks. Thank you for following the royal transition with us, and find more coverage on washingtonpost.com. King Charles III is going to surprise us, predicts Opinions guest writer Ben Judah. “Britain’s new head of state is a loud admirer of Islam, a critic of Western interventionism and a champion of multiculturalism who will win his country new friends — and some populist enemies — across the world.” Queen Elizabeth II's coffin traveled from Westminster Hall to Wellington Arch and to her final resting place, Windsor Castle, for her state funeral on Sept. 19. (Video: Alexa Juliana Ard/The Washington Post) Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, was buried Monday night after a private family service that followed two elaborate and highly choreographed public ceremonies and processions. The remains of her husband of more than 70 years, Prince Philip, were placed next to her in a vault under St. George’s Chapel on the Windsor Castle estate. By the numbers: About a quarter-million people passed by the queen’s coffin lying in state, preliminary government figures show, Karla Adam and Annabelle Timsit write. If those numbers hold, the queen’s would not be the largest funeral queue ever, royal or otherwise. An article on the Guinness World Records website reports that more than 300,000 people passed by the coffin of Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, in 1952. (Another numerical factoid in all this coverage? Funeral pacing is 75 steps per minute.) Queen's pet corgis and horse seen at Windsor Castle Queen Elizabeth II's two corgis, Muick and Sandy, and horse Emma were seen at Windsor Castle ahead of her funeral at St. George’s Chapel on Sept. 19. (Video: The Washington Post) The news you really want: More on the queen’s beloved corgis and Fell pony, who stood by as the procession reached Windsor on Monday; and what Charles wrote in the note atop the queen’s coffin (yup, in the gorgeous floral arrangement that held that spider). More bonus animal content: After foreign presidents gifted the queen horses this year in honor of her Platinum Jubilee, London bureau chief William Booth wrote about her lifelong love of horses (riding, showing, breeding, racing and watching them). Couture clues: Sending signals through fashion is a royal tradition. Usually the point is an homage to a host country, wearing national colors or, say, an outfit by a local designer. On Monday, we saw Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in black versions of dresses they had previously worn — which kept focus on the late queen, as opposed to any new fashion choices. Features reporter Ashley Fetters Maloy looks at details of their dresses and what was worn by Camilla. Search queen: The queen’s funeral was among the most Google searched topics on Monday in nearly all of the 49 countries tracked by the site, The Post reports. In India, the queen’s death evoked some sadness — and a lot of apathy, write Niha Masih and Anant Gupta. Most Indians, they report, “particularly young people, felt little nostalgia. The queen’s death has sparked a complicated conversation here over colonial legacy, and so even as world leaders and heads of state gathered in London for the service, there was no profuse expression of sorrow in the country that once was a crucial corner of the British realm.” Perhaps not surprisingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t attend Monday’s services.
| The text being discussed is available at | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/20/post-elizabeth-newsletter-king-charles-challenges/ and |