Image: LEON NEAL (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA)
Since the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, “God Save the King” has applied. King Charles III has been sitting for a year. on the throne, Elizabeth’s eldest son. A man being king is probably the biggest change after 70 years under a queen. But by no means the only one.
MONEY & CO.
The change is most visible on stamps and some coins: they already bear Charles’s profile. According to tradition, the monarch looks to the left – after his predecessor had looked to the right. Billions of coins with the Queen’s face are still in circulation and are still valid. Charles is unlikely to appear on banknotes until mid-2024. Government institutions, on the other hand, had to change their lettering, because their official designation is “His Majesty’s…” (His Majesty) and no longer “Her Majesty’s…” (Her Majesty). Accordingly, the title of lawyers has also changed: they are now KC (King’s Counsel) and no longer QC (Queen’s Counsel).
PUBLICITY
The monarch himself is also more visible. Until the unofficial summer break, which Charles spends at the royal country estate of Balmoral in Scotland – where the Queen died – the 74-year-old traveled tirelessly through the country. He held more than 550 appointments in his first year on the throne, significantly more than his mother in her first 365 days. Hardly a week without a public appearance, Charles and his wife Camilla visited all parts of the country. Queen Elizabeth has appeared less and less in recent years – most recently due to the corona pandemic and her declining health.
With the state visit to Germany at the end of March, the royal family also reported back on the international stage, and the visit to France, which was canceled in spring because of the violent pension protests, will soon be made up for. The former colonies of Kenya and Australia should also be on the travel list. “I think we had almost forgotten what it means when you see the British head of state making state visits,” says constitutional lawyer Craig Prescott. Such trips could have symbolic value and also contribute to normal diplomacy.
PLACE OF RESIDENCE
Charles has rearranged the royal residences. Windsor Castle west of London, where his mother last resided, has lost importance. The center of the monarchy is once again London. However, it is not Buckingham Palace that will be extensively renovated until 2027. But the nearby Clarence House, which Charles learned to appreciate as heir to the throne. The palace emphasizes that this will not last. Charles should move into the city palace at the latest when the work is completed.
ANIMALS
The royals are known for their love of animals, and Charles is no exception. Like his mother, he keeps dogs – but not the famous corgis, whose youngest specimens Muick and Sandy are now cared for by their son Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson after the death of their owner. They are also not Cavalier King Charles Spaniels – the free newspaper “Metro” wrote of a “missed opportunity” – but the Jack Russell Terriers Beth and Bluebell, who are even immortalized on Camilla’s coronation robe.
Horses are also very popular. The royal couple attended the well-known race at Ascot for several days in a row, where Charles’ horse “Desert Hero” raced to victory. But Charles shouldn’t be able to match his mother’s proverbial love of animals. Until shortly before her death, she rode her favorite pony Emma, groom Terence Pendry told the magazine “Horse & Hound”. The black fur pony became known worldwide because it stood by the wayside at the funeral procession for the Queen in Windsor – the monarch’s saddle protection and her headscarf on her back. Emma is spending her retirement at the Royal Mews in London.
POPULARITY
Fears that support for the royals could collapse dramatically with the death of Elizabeth II did not come true. The number of monarchy supporters in Great Britain has been just above the 60 percent mark for years. Only directly after the Queen’s death did it briefly rise to 67 percent. According to a recent YouGov survey, 60 percent of subjects are also satisfied with their new king. Six in ten say they have a positive opinion of their monarch, with almost as many (59 percent) saying he is doing a good job.
According to the survey, only three royals are more popular than the king: almost three quarters of Britons (74 percent) have a good impression of the heir to the throne Prince William (41). In second place is Princess Anne, the king’s 73-year-old sister, with 73 percent approval, closely followed by William’s wife Princess Kate (41), who sees 72 percent in a positive light.
FUTURE
The monarchy should become more modern, the monarch is more modern. Where his mother seemed to hover above things like an icon, Charles is approachable. When visiting a Sikh temple, he sat on the floor. And while the late Queen’s “stiff upper lip” was proverbial, her son is much more emotional: In his first speech to the people, he barely held back tears because of his dead mother, in Northern Ireland he raged over a blotchy pen. His decision to open the royal archives to research into the Crown’s links to the slave trade was also praised. So far no apology has crossed his lips.
“Just having a king and queen is something we haven’t had since 1952,” says expert Prescott, who previously taught at Bangor University and is working on a book on modern monarchy. “So you could say we’re slowly moving towards a more normal monarchy.” There is a king and a queen, but no longer a kind of supermother like Elizabeth II, who was more like an international icon. That, Prescott emphasizes, also shows the strength of the monarchy as an institution.
Source: Nachrichten
