Now that the late Queen Elizabeth II has been laid to rest, there will likely be major changes in the British monarchy. This article shows a glimpse of what the future of the British monarchy looks like. Check it out.
The Coronation of King Charles III
On 8th September 2022, King Charles III accede the British throne after the death of Queen Elizabeth III, his mother. However, even though King Charles was formally proclaimed as the new monarch during an Accession Council Ceremony that took place 24 hours after the death of the queen, the official reign of King Charles will begin after his coronation ceremony.
The coronation of King Charles III will probably take place in a year's time. King Charles' coronation is set to take place in 2023 in order to give the people and the monarchy time to grieve the late Queen Elizabeth II. Once an official date is set for the coronation, the United Kingdom government will declare the day a UK bank holiday. The bank holiday will allow UK based employees to be given a day off from work to celebrate the coronation. The coronation will take place in London's Westminster Abbey, which is where previous coronations have taken place for the last 900 years.
The Downsizing of the Monarchy
According to The Telegraph report in April 2021, King Charles planned to downsize the monarchy once he took the throne. The royal family has 22 highest ranking members that are in the line of succession according to the royal family website. King Charles plans to slim down the number of senior royal family members in the line of succession to only 7. There are multiple reasons why King Charles would opt to downsize the monarchy. They include:
A reduced number of senior royals would allow the monarchy to save more money. This is because the sovereign grant would fund fewer people, which would cause the public funds serving the working royals to be used in other projects within the monarchy. A decreased number of senior royals would give streamlined press more presence since individual royal houses are considered off limits, regardless of the impact. By downsizing the monarchy, the press would have more control over news regarding the royal family to the public.
The Queen Consort Taking on New Prominent Role beside the King
With the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain will no longer have a queen. Instead, the monarchy will have a queen consort, which is a role that King Charles III bestowed upon his darling wife Camilla when he accede the British throne.
The queen consort will serve as a counselor of state alongside the four royals that are in the line of succession, namely, prince William, Prince Harry, Prince Andrew, and Princess Beatrice. On top of that, the queen consort will temporary carry out some of the duties of King Charles on his behalf in case he is travelling abroad or ill. Some of the duties that the queen consort is allowed to discharge on behalf of the king include:
Signing routine documents
Receiving credentials of new ambassadors to the UK
Attending Privy Council meetings
Earlier this year, the late Queen Elizabeth issued a statement declaring that Camilla should become queen consort when her son ascended the throne. This shows that Camilla has the blessing of the late queen.
King Charles's Reign Will Be Shorter
Obviously due to age, King Charles's reign will be shorter than that of the late Queen Elizabeth II. It is expected that the king's most productive role for now will be to mend Britain's broken international relationships. His predecessors e.g. King Edward VII and Queen Elizabeth II also played an important role in mending broken international relationships. For instance, King Edward VII diplomatic visit to France helped to secure the historic alliance and the Entente Cordiale alliance that was formed between France and the UK in 1904. In 2011, the late Queen Elizabeth also made a notable successful Irish visit.
During his new reign, King Charles III and the Queen Consort Camilla may repeat the Irish visit to strengthen the relationship between the two nations. Additionally, we could see Charles and Camilla visit some of Britain's new economic partners such as the Gulf States and India. Although there are people who prefer to abolish the monarchy, the British Monarchy will survive and thrive depending on its ability to adapt to the changing times and do what its people and its politicians expect of it.
Also, the monarchy will need to work harder in its charitable, trade, and diplomatic roles in order to continue commanding the public's support. Given the experience and lifetime of preparation that King Charles has had, it is clear that England is in good hands.
