For the coronation of King Charles, the United Kingdom brought out all the pomp and glamor it had to offer. A year later, it’s no longer all glitz and glory.
It would be rare for grandpa and grandson to share a special day. But that’s exactly the case with the Royal Family: May 6th marks one year since King Charles III. was crowned in a pompous ceremony – and his grandson Prince Archie turns five on the same day. But there is no joint celebration. The reason is also the big difference in the family, and that doesn’t just apply in the literal sense. The relationship between 75-year-old Charles and Archie is a symbol of the fact that one year after the coronation, the royal family is far from all glitz and glory.
The family dispute
Expert Craig Prescott from the Royal Holloway University of London is also convinced that the relationship between Prince Harry – Archie’s father and Charles’ younger son – and the British monarch is unlikely to return to normal. The wounds in personal relationships seem too deep. Harry and his wife, Duchess Meghan, who withdrew from the royal family years ago and live in California with Archie and their daughter Princess Lilibet, had made serious accusations to Charles and the rest of the Royal Family in interviews, documentaries and a book.
Slight approaches have so far failed to produce a breakthrough. When the king made his cancer diagnosis public at the beginning of February, Harry immediately traveled to London – alone. But the meeting with the father only lasted around 45 minutes. Harry will be back in the British capital on Wednesday. There he takes part in a thanksgiving service for the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games. The 39-year-old himself initiated the competitions for war-disabled soldiers. But an encounter with Charles or his older brother Prince William, the heir to the throne, is not planned, as can be read.
“Who knows what will happen in the long term, but there is no prospect of change in the coming years,” says constitutional lawyer Prescott. There actually seems to be animosity between Harry and William. A note: When her mother Princess Diana, who died in 1997, was remembered at an awards ceremony a few months ago, Harry was later connected to the award winners via video – and only after William had left the event.
What does Archie actually do?
The Duchess and Duke of Sussex, as Meghan and Harry’s official titles continue to be, keep their children out of the public eye. There are no current photos of Archie and sister Lilibet, who will be three at the beginning of June. The sixth in line to the British throne was last seen a few times in 2022 in the Netflix documentary “Harry and Meghan”. It was learned there that Archie liked music, especially by Elton John.
In the same year, father Harry told People magazine that his son liked to disturb video calls. In his Netflix series “Heart of Invictus,” he said: “When I talk to my son Archie about what he wants to be when he grows up, sometimes it’s an astronaut and other days it’s a pilot.”
Shortly before Christmas 2023, Meghan said the boy had shown an interest in cameras after family friend and photographer Misan Harriman taught him a little about the art. They then gave Archie a camera – and the boy complained that it wasn’t a Leica model like the one Harriman uses.
The sick man of the kingdom
The king appears in public again! There was relief in the British media when Charles visited a cancer clinic in London on Tuesday and appeared to be in good spirits. The British head of state made a good impression, said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and opposition leader Keir Starmer.
But the monarch’s illness continues to overshadow the Royal Family even after three months. It is exciting to see whether Charles will now return to normality. The palace made it clear that the treatment would continue. Appointments should take place in consultation with doctors. So there remains a risk. Especially since Charles’ daughter-in-law Princess Kate, another high-ranking representative, will be out for some time.
Royals expert Prescott is calm. Other members of the Royal Family took on additional tasks, such as Charles’ sister Princess Anne. “A lot of it went pretty smoothly,” says Prescott. Brother Prince Edward and his wife Duchess Sophie would also attend more important appointments. Sophie recently traveled to Ukraine on behalf of the British government.
The English patient
Concern for the future queen is significantly greater. The wife of heir to the throne William also made a cancer diagnosis public. Like her father-in-law, Kate does not share what exactly she is suffering from. But that she is receiving chemotherapy as a precaution. When the palace announced in January that Kate had undergone abdominal surgery, there was talk of a return to the spotlight after Easter. Given her illness, which was discovered afterwards, it is unclear how long she will be out.
The fact that the most popular member of the royals has disappeared from the scene is actually a long-term problem, says Prescott in an interview with the German Press Agency. Because as long as their children Prince George (10), Princess Charlotte – nine years old since Thursday – and Prince Louis (6) are not yet old enough to carry out representative tasks, Kate and William are the youngest “working royals” who are in the name occur to the family. The royal family has to worry about its acceptance among younger people, as surveys show. Lots of construction sites for King Charles.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
