King Charles has lived a privileged life. That’s kind of the point of being royal. That you should sparkle a little more than others. The people must be able to look up to him. But at the same time, the royals should not rise above those they are supposed to serve. Don’t remove yourself too much from the life that ordinary people live. They should be relevant. CELEBRATING THE MOTHER: A cheerful and welcoming Charles during the celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne last June. Photo: Håvard Blekastad Almås / news Meghan Markle had the potential to make the British royal family relevant to a wider group of people. With her African-American roots, she brought a multicultural identity into the whitest and most privileged family in the world. Her background thus reflects an increasingly large part of the British population. Breakup and exile But then came the breakup. Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan broke with the royal family and moved to the United States. They are no longer working members of the royal family. ART: Artist Kaya Mar with her interpretation of the Duke and Duchess Harry and Meghan. Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP Is that a loss for King Charles and his attempts to modernize the British royal house? I put the question to a group of academics consisting of lawyers, historians and political scientists, who recently published the report The British Monarchy on the British monarchy. The answer I got was unanimous. A great loss, and especially Meghan. Precisely because of the aforementioned background. Meghan will not attend the coronation of her father-in-law. But Harry is coming. He has referred to the coronation as the most important day in his father’s life. He therefore wants to share the day with his family. Harry’s secrets At the same time, he has once again made claims about the family without their knowledge and consent. In an ongoing legal dispute with the British tabloid press, he claims that his brother and heir to the throne William should have received a large lump sum of money in a secret deal with a newspaper owner. As with the many attacks and revelations in the autobiography Spare, such solo outings are unlikely to contribute to the reunion many hope to see in the royal family. The coronation is such an occasion. It will be Harry’s first meeting with his family since he published his book. PREPARATION: London is ready for the coronation. Photo: Kin Cheung / AP But could the family feud also be an advantage for King Charles? The king is struggling to create enthusiasm for the monarchy. In a recent poll, a majority say they don’t care about the coronation. Far fewer street parties have been recorded than at the celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne in June last year. And anti-monarchy demonstrations have been announced along the coronation day procession route. Weakened support Support for the monarchy is far lower now than 50 years ago. 58 percent responded in YouGov’s poll for the BBC 14-17. April that they want a monarchy going forward. In 1969, a whopping 88 percent believed that the monarchy was good for Great Britain. The decline in support has continued over time. The youngest are the most skeptical. But the consolation for the royal family is that support has remained fairly stable since Charles became king last September. DISSATISFACTION: Demonstration against the royal couple when Charles and Camilla were in Liverpool last week. Photo: POOL / Reuters It is now a public matter that the king is struggling on the family front. His youngest son has rejected him. He has no contact with the grandchildren. It’s not just a sad loss. It is also recognizable to many. The family problem can thus be something that binds the royal family and the general public together. The importance of attention Moreover, the king’s family drama unfolds on the world’s biggest stage. If there’s one thing the royal family depends on, it’s attention. And if there is anyone who has mastered the art of getting it, it is Harry and Meghan. Call for the King! Listen to Urix here, with a report on the preparations for the coronation. And reality surpasses fiction’s The Crown to its advantage, points out the former BBC editor Roger Mosey in the report The British Monarchy: “We got the most captivating episodes about the British royal family in the drama of reality, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Harry and Meghan) left Britain in favor of a life in North America, via Oprah Winfrey and Netflix.” TRAINED: The relationship between the king, his sons and their families has been strained in recent years. Photo: Phil Harris / AP Where Charles may previously have been perceived as the floating, distant dreamer, the rich and unscrupulous upper-class man or the cynical, unfaithful husband, it is perhaps the father, the grandfather and the responsible business manager who now come to the fore. With all the challenges that come with it.
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Is family trouble weakening King Charles? – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
