“I will strive to serve the UK with loyalty, respect and love, as I have done throughout my life.” The King Charles III of England (73 years old) gave his first speech yesterday as sovereign of the most important constitutional monarchy in the world. She promised to follow the “example of service to others” preached by Elizabeth II, who died last Thursday at the age of 96.
The truth is that the hitherto Prince of Wales has had time to prepare. A long time. In the 70 years that her mother has been Queen, he has been heir to the crown. However, it has failed to win wide popular support; much less achieve the approval ratings enjoyed by its predecessor.
In accordance with a poll Realized by YouGov before the summer, King Carlos III occupied seventh on the list popularity of members of the royal family. He did so with a discreet 42%, which means that only less than half of the British have a “favorable opinion” of the current sovereign.
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Above are his son, the Prince GuillermoAnd his wife, Kate Middleton, which occupy second and third place, and which far exceed 65% popularity. But not even they can compete with Queen Elizabeth II of England, who tops the ranking and has 75% support.
That seems to be one of the reasons why Carlos III is not particularly appreciated: he has lived his whole life in the shadow of his mother. The vast majority of the 68 million inhabitants of the country have not known another sovereign. That means, as explained by the journalist from The Times Valentine Low, that “the Queen’s style, manners and approach have become so etched in the national consciousness that they are synonymous with what it is to be a monarch.”
King Charles III enters Buckingham Palace after succeeding his mother, Elizabeth II, on the throne.
Reuters
The problem is that Carlos III is very different from all that. And although he has assured that he will “honor the memory” of his “beloved motherBritons have had years to spare to get to know their future King well. They have had decades to learn about his complicated personal life, including his failed marriage to the late Princess Diana and his relationship with Camilla, the current Queen Consort. But they have also been able to study in detail opinions, hobbies and weaknesses, and build an image of it. Not always good.
political opinions
The greatest criticism has rained down on him, precisely, for strive to express their political opinions, when the Royal House is obliged to remain neutral.
Despite this, in 2015 the rotary Guardian published -after a long legal battle that lasted a decade- 27 cards that the then Prince Charles had sent in 2004 and 2005 to several members of the Government, including the Prime Minister Tony Blair.
In the missives, they are referred to as the “black spider memo“by the tangled handwriting, the monarch pressed parliamentarians on various issues. He went so far as to demand that the head of government take urgent action to improve the iraq troop conditions or to increase the availability of alternative medicines in the country.
King Charles III and Camilla, the queen consort, entering Buckingham Palace.
These trends have led more than one biographer to predict that Carlos III will be an “activist” king and that he will use his position to continue defending the causes that he is passionate about. Far from being unfounded, these fears forced the king to calm the waters in an interview with the BBC in 2018 where he assured that was not going to be a “nosy” monarch and that he would change his way of acting when ascending the throne.
Scandals and eccentricities
In addition to neutrality, Carlos III has also skipped the royal principle of discretion. He is known to carry an eccentric way of life Time magazine attributes to him a luxurious collection of high-end cars, a large retinue of servants and almost a dozen houses.
But that is not the scandal that haunts him. In recent years, the police have been investigating one of his charities after he was accused of soliciting donations from a Saudi billionaire in return for honors. That is, in exchange for obtaining a knighthood and British citizenship.
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It seems that the king of England has a long way to go to restore his image and win the support of the British. To do this, however, he will first have to overcome some constitutional challenges -such as the independence of Scotland and the situation in Northern Ireland-, which could threaten the union of a Kingdom immersed in continual storms.
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