Thorny crown

Nearly seven months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III was officially crowned King on May 6 at a glittering ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London which was a mix of an ancient ceremony dating back 1,000 years and incorporated with some modern touches. The 74-year old monarch was formally proclaimed the new monarch on September 8,2022 two days after the death of the reigning Queen. He officially became King when the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, placed the 360-year-old St Edward’s Crown on Charles’ head as he sat upon a 14th-century throne in Westminster Abbey. At 73, King Charles is the oldest monarch to take the British throne. His wife Queen Consort Camilla was also crowned during the coronation and both became King and Queen of the UK and other Commonwealth realms. Even in the run up to the coronation there were hoards of protestors who chanted and held placards that read “Not Our King.” King Charless III has not been wholly accepted by his subjects as only 49% of the public believed he was doing a good job versus 9% thinking otherwise. Views of Queen Camilla are more split, with 34% rating her favourably, 32% unfavourably, and 31% saying their view is neither positive or negative. These are not very healthy rating for a reigning King but there are several reasons. Britons can’t seem to trust Charles because he had betrayed the love he had for Camilla to marry Diana. He then betrayed Diana to carry on an affair with Camilla. Charles publicly admitted that he started having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles in 1986 while he was still married to Princess Diana. He also treated Princess Diana poorly on a number of occasions. Research revealed that nearly half of the British public wanted Charles to step aside and give the throne to his oldest son when Queen Elizabeth II passed away. Among factors that have made King Charles III less popular is because a majority of Britons prefer his son Prince William as King instead. Unlike Charles who hasn’t always seemed eager to relate to ordinary British citizens, Prince William, on the other hand, has reached out to people much as his mother did, and he has a compassionate way about him. That is why many people wanted to see William as King and not Charles. The late Queen Elizabeth II reigned for 70 years and 214 days and was the longest reigning monarch of the UK and Commonwealth. Despite severe criticisms against the Royal family, from Princess Diana’s death to Prince Andrew’s scandal and Prince Harry’s controversies, Queen Elizabeth II managed to weather the storms. After Elizabeth’s demise and under King Charles III, the cracks within the Royal family has deepened. Prince Andrew has been literally thrown out of Buckingham Palace by King Charles for sex scandal, while Prince Harry and Meghan have been asked to vacate Frogmore Cottage after their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey when Queen Elizabeth was alive and Harry’s autobiography, Spare after the Queen’s demise. Unfortunately for King Charles III his estrangement with his brother Andrew and cutting off his son Harry, due to compelling reasons, could not have come at the worst time.