King Charles III Faces the Double Challenge of Age and Popularity – The HuffPost

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TOBY MELVILLE / AFP (FILES) In this file photo taken on March 13, 2015 Britain’s Prince Charles, Prince of Wales attends a reception at Guildhall following a memorial service to mark the end of Britain’s combat operations in Afghanistan in central London. – Charles has spent virtually his entire life waiting to succeed his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, even as he took on more of her duties and responsibilities as she aged. But the late monarch’s eldest son, 73, made the most of his record-breaking time as the longest-serving heir to the throne by forging his own path. (Photo by TOBY MELVILLE / POOL / AFP) TOBY MELVILLE / AFP King Charles III ascends the throne at the age of 73, after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022. CHARLES III – He will have waited almost 70 years to ascend the throne. Prince Charles became King Charles III on Thursday September 8 after the death of Queen Elizabeth II at age 96. Very different from his mother, much less popular, the new king has fixed ideas on many subjects, a man of passions who have sometimes aroused admiration and often criticism. At 73, Charles III goes down in history as the oldest British monarch at the start of his reign. And he is more than ready, especially since over the years he has increasingly taken his mother’s place: inaugurations, medal ceremonies, State dinners, trips and garden parties n have no more secrets for him. He has visited nearly a hundred countries, met many of the greats of this world, shook millions of hands. “He’s a good professional for the monarchy,” said Michel Faure, author of a biography of Prince Charles. “He will be a rather benevolent king (…) very different from his mother”. But it is an “old man” who ascends the throne, notes Robert Hazell, professor of constitutional law at University College London. “It will be very difficult for him to take over from the queen,” he told AFP. “The monarchy will probably go through difficult times.” Crowned Prince of Wales in 1969 Charles, Philip, Arthur, George became heir to the throne aged 3 and 3 months when his 25-year-old mother became queen in February 1952. At 4½ he attended her coronation at the Abbey of Westminster between his grandmother and his aunt Margaret. When he was 9 years old, his mother conferred on him the title of Prince of Wales. You cannot view this content because you have refused the cookies associated with content from third parties. If you want to view this content, you can change your choices. The eldest of four children, he grew up shy and lonely, entrusted to nannies and a governess, then sent to boarding school at a very young age, in particular to the very strict Gordonstoun boarding school in Scotland. He then studied anthropology, archeology and history at the University of Cambridge. However, its title creates an inevitable distance with this introverted and clumsy prince, with protruding ears. He was crowned Prince of Wales by his mother in July 1969 during a grandiose televised ceremony, carried out his military duty from 1971 to 1976 in the air force and navy, before devoting himself fully to his obligations as a prince. heir: an indefinite role, “responsible for supporting the queen to ensure the influence of the monarchy”. A popularity rating lower than that of his Eternal Grandchildren “Prince Charles”, his popularity is not that of Queen Elizabeth. His private life has been scrutinized and has been the subject of much criticism. After a few marivaudages and the passing years, the heir to the Crown agreed in 1981 to marry without love Lady Diana Spencer, 19-year-old aristocrat, with whom he would have two sons, Princes William and Harry. But once his duty was done, he returned to the arms of his childhood sweetheart Camilla Parker Bowles, who had married another because he had been deemed incompatible with the monarchy a few years earlier because of his lifestyle and his independence. During an event interview in 1994, Charles confirmed that he cheated on Diana and had an extramarital affair with Camilla. In the wake of the confession, the British public will show a time more understanding towards the prince, then will have the hard tooth towards Charles particularly after the death of Diana in a car accident in Paris in 1997. Years later, in 2005, Charles and Camilla said yes during a civil marriage. The British are sensitive to this amorous stubbornness. Little by little his popularity rating is rising, even if the Diana years have never been forgotten. Prince Charles was 54% in favor in August 2021, according to a YouGov poll, far behind the Queen (80%), Prince William (78%) his daughter-in-law Kate Middleton (75%) or his sister the Princess Anne (65%). Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall since their marriage, topped out at 43%. What revive the hopes of supporters of an abolition of the monarchy? Defender of ecology His interest in ecology even before it made headlines also earned him criticism. Conversely, it could today be a way for him to rise in the esteem of the British at a time when climate change is one of the great challenges to overcome, and to tip the monarchy into modernity. “In the 70s, he was almost a visionary, but he was called eccentric,” says Penny Junor, author of several books on the British royal family. “He’s an activist,” said Michel Faure. “He has ideas, wants to make them known, and persuade his subjects that they are amazing”. Charles, for example, has created an all-organic garden and farm at his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire, West England. He also launched the Duchy Originals organic food and drink range, marketed by high-end supermarkets Waitrose. You cannot view this content because you have refused the cookies associated with content from third parties. If you want to view this content, you can change your choices. Duty of strict neutrality for the king Defender of rurality, critic of modern architecture – he had derailed in the 80s a project to extend the National Gallery – he created two small towns on his land in the south- West of England, Poundbury in 1993 and Nansledan in 2013, based on his ideas of traditional architecture and sustainable development. Since 2007, it has published its ecological footprint (3,133 tonnes of CO2 in 2020 compared to 5,070 in 2019). And plants trees he talks to – this admission in the 1980s sparked much ridicule. In 2008, he proposed a global fund to fight against the destruction of tropical forests. He also has an electric jaguar, usually skips lunch, and only eats meat on certain days. In the 2000s, he had written to ministers of the Blair government to talk about health, education, but also the war in Iraq or the illegal fishing of Patagonian toothfish, at the risk of being accused of political interference . Now king, he will now have to respect strict neutrality. In 2018, he assured the BBC that he was aware that he should refrain from taking any position: “The role of monarch and that of Prince of Wales are completely different. I will not be an intrusive king. I’m not that stupid. See also on HuffPost: You cannot view this content because you have refused cookies associated with third-party content. If you want to view this content, you can change your choices.