King Charles III’s swearing at Camilla suddenly improved his image

In Britain, there is a tradition – before Christmas, a holiday card is issued with a portrait of the monarch. Charles III chose a joint photo with Queen Consort Camilla. This photo is notable if only because it was taken in Scotland five days before the death of Elizabeth II, when the current king was still the Prince of Wales.

The current Christmas celebrations were the first that the royal family spends without Elizabeth II, to whom for seven decades they have become accustomed to as something eternal and taken for granted by several generations of British residents. And how ready are they to let new crowned characters into their hearts?

Recent polls have shown that about half of Britons are going to ignore the king’s first Christmas address, which is traditionally shown on December 25th.

Despite an initial surge in popularity after the death of Elizabeth II, the ratings of Charles III and the royal family as a whole have declined sharply in recent weeks. December’s YouGov poll data shows the king is only the fourth most popular member of the royal family, with an approval rating of +35, up from +43 back in November.

It is a weak consolation that other members of the ruling family lose in people’s love. Even the most popular representatives of the British monarchy – Crown Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton – showed lower ratings in December than a month earlier.

Kisses from the crowd

Even during the life of Elizabeth II, no, no, yes, there was talk that the monarchy in the 21st century is an anachronism. And that perhaps the time has come for Britain to slowly move towards a republican form of government. Now, sometimes there is a feeling that the royal family with Charles III at the head will have to seriously work hard to seriously and permanently secure popularity in the eyes of their subjects.

Royal biographer Andrew Morton, speaking of the beginning of the reign of Charles III, stated: “Charles is on his ‘honeymoon’. We see a slightly different style, like kissing people in the crowd – you’ve never seen that with a queen.”

As early as September 9, a photograph emerged of a woman kissing the new king’s hand outside Buckingham Palace as he greeted members of the public mourning the queen’s death. But knowledgeable people say that this is generally a habit for the eldest son of Elizabeth II.

For example, back in 1977, 16-year-old Gilda Larbi was photographed kissing Prince Charles on the cheek in Perth, Australia – and the then heir to the throne was smiling. And during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the crown prince broke the rule of the royals to avoid selfies with the public – while in Canada, Charles did not resist taking pictures with two fans.

In general, over the long years of being “on the bench” in the role of the crown prince, the future monarch of the United Kingdom managed to break many of the stereotypes and seemingly unshakable rules of the ruling family. To begin with, Charles became the first divorced heir to the British throne. And he was the first to marry, after a divorce, a divorced woman, who now had the fate of becoming a queen consort.

There is reason to think that Charles III is likely to have a “more dynamic” style in the role of monarch compared to the late parent. After all, Morton observes, “the queen was in her nineties and had a very meager agenda. I think that the king will have to keep up with the times, although he himself is 74 years old.

“But a lot will depend on the coronation – the form and style of the coronation. This will determine his future – and the future of his reign, ”says the royal expert, talking about the future of Charles III.

Those terrible Harry and Meghan

On the “honeymoon” of the new monarch, the release of the fifth – and perhaps to this day – the most scandalous season of the series “The Crown” fell on the screens, one of the main characters of which he became (and at the time of the events described – Charles was the Prince of Wales). And, although the series shows the affairs of bygone days, related, in particular, to the story of Princess Diana, it causes considerable irritation in Buckingham Palace. And this is partly due to fears about the coronation of Charles III scheduled for the spring of 2023.

“Everyone who works in the palace is on pins and needles; they don’t want anything to go wrong,” says Andrew Morton. “And one of the things that could go wrong could be a dramatic change in Charles’ image. They don’t want people to be reminded of what happened in the past with Charles and Camilla.”

However, the royal house should be worried not only because of the series “Crown”. The revelations of the royal prodigal son Harry will be stronger. As an artillery preparation, the Netflix documentary Harry and Megan appeared with scandalous stories of the prince and his wife Meghan Markle about troubles in the royal family. And the main blow to Buckingham Palace is expected on January 10, when Harry’s explosive memoirs under the heading “Spare” will be published.

But so far no one can predict what will follow the publication of memoirs in which the 38-year-old Duke of Sussex, offended by his relatives, will take out new rubbish from the royal hut.

It may well happen that the case will end in a complete break, depriving Harry, Megan and their children of the remaining titles and privileges. But if Charles III puts his paternal feelings above insults, there is a chance that at least the appearance of peace in the ruling family will remain.

There have been voices from some in the British elite that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle should not attend the King’s coronation following the release of the Netflix documentary series. One Conservative politician said the couple were making money overseas by selling their family and “it should be made clear that the British people don’t want them to be at the coronation.” And the British, said the politician, “have every right to boo” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, if they still come to the ceremony.

But some insiders say that Charles III is ready to invite his youngest son and wife to his coronation, no matter what. However, there is a delicate moment – the laying of the crown on the head of the new monarch falls on the birthday of the son of Harry and Meghan, Archie. And the question arises, what kind of celebration will the couple living in California prefer.

Moreover, the Sussexes demonstrate their readiness to escalate. They decided to develop a “racist” theme in the royal house.

Recently, 83-year-old court lady (and godmother to Prince William) Lady Susan Hussey was accused of “racism” after she asked several politically incorrect questions to the black head of the non-profit Ngozi Fulani. The old woman had to apologize to the woman offended by questions about her ethnic roots.

Then Harry and Meghan became more active, who, according to sources, wanted “their own apologies” from their relatives. Recall that earlier the couple accused an unnamed member of the ruling family of being interested in the skin color of their unborn child. And now they seem to be annoyed: they publicly apologize to Ngozi Fulani for “racism”, but not to them …

Missed climate opportunity

For example, Charles III is known for his “obsession” with environmental issues. But he was forced to succumb to the opinion of the government, which dissuaded the monarch from personally attending a climate change summit in Egypt last autumn.

According to the rules of the constitutional monarchy of Great Britain, the king is forbidden to interfere in politics. By tradition, all official foreign visits of members of the royal family are carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the government.

But as the Prince of Wales, Charles attended the climate change conference in 2021. In fact, he gained a reputation as a prominent supporter of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and discussed the subject with Donald Trump as the then president prepared to withdraw the United States from the treaty. And speaking at the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos, Charles asked the question: “Do we want to go down in history as people who did nothing to bring the world back from the brink in time to restore balance? I do not want”.

Nevertheless, Charles III actually had to admit that now, as a monarch, he would have less freedom to speak out on public issues than the heir to the throne. As a result, Karl did not go to the climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, while the new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who represented Great Britain in Egypt, clearly did not possess the corresponding charisma. So the British monarch missed the chance to become “climate king”.

“This damn thing is unbearable”

And of course, many consider his temper to be the weak point of the new British king. In Valentine Lowe’s The Courtiers: The Power Behind the Crown, insiders close to the monarch revealed that Charles has a “tough temper and a ferocious work ethic.”

A former aide to the Prince of Wales told Reuters that while Charles can be jovial, he can also be very short-tempered and demanding.

Shortly after the death of Elizabeth II, her son showed intemperance in public. During a trip to Northern Ireland, the monarch went berserk because of a leaky pen that he tried to sign in the visitor’s book under the guns of the cameras.

As the ink spilled over him, the new king exclaimed, “God, I hate this! This damn thing is unbearable… every stinky time.”

But these outbursts of rage can be attributed to the stress caused by the death of his mother and royal worries that have fallen on yesterday’s crown prince. And in general, as it turned out, many ordinary Britons react with understanding to such unrestrained behavior.

Not so long ago, the press drew attention to the irritation of the king against his wife Camilla. While visiting Wales, Charles III looked extremely unhappy when the queen consort fell behind him during a walk. He even turned to the assistants: “Can we try to get her back? Please! We have to go! I tried to wait for her, but she keeps lagging behind. The footage generated a lot of comments from netizens who called the royal couple “a typical married couple.”

“I think it’s cute and funny, it just shows that he’s a human being like the rest of us,” wrote one commenter. And a user named Catriona Rowntree reacted to the behavior of the king like this: “This is my spitting image of my husband!”

“I love that they look like a normal couple. God save King Charles III and Queen Camilla,” writes another Briton. From which we can conclude that the royals should keep it simple. Look, people will be drawn to them.