Looking forward: what kind of king will Charles be?
As Prince Charles celebrates his 73rd birthday today, we look at what kind of monarch he will make
Happy birthday Prince Charles. As the Prince of Wales celebrates his 73rd birthday today, November 14, Kerry has taken a look at what kind of king he will make for The Saturday Telegraph. Read the full version here. Here’s an extract:
He might not even be King Charles III, although it’s expected. In the past, rulers changed their names, including the Queen’s father who went from Bertie (Albert) to King George VI. Prince Charles’ full name is Charles Philip Arthur George, so he could even feasibly be King Arthur.
And what of his Camelot? It won’t be an expansive court – Charles is vocal about his desire to slim down the monarchy, but Harry and Meghan’s exit has scuppered his plan, says CNN royal contributor Victoria Arbiter. “He’s going to have to rethink this idea a little bit,” she says, as “it starts to become a very small pool of people for a huge amount of work, so I think Charles is going to have to lean on Edward and Sophie.”
With a reduced taskforce, the way the royals carry out engagements may also change, says Joe Little, Managing Editor of Majesty magazine. “Virtual engagements may become a permanent and efficient feature of working royal life,” he says.
Prince William will become the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Camilla is expected to become Princess Consort, although biographer Robert Jobson says she may still be Queen, as Charles “always intended her to become his queen consort.”
He is expected to overhaul royal palaces, opening them to the public, including Buckingham Palace all year round and reducing his living quarters to “a flat above the shop”. Other changes being considered include turning Balmoral into a museum to the Queen and moving William and Catherine to Windsor Castle.
Some of his more outspoken views on topics like architecture will be toned down. “The idea somehow that I’m going to go on in exactly the same way, if I have to succeed, is complete nonsense,” he previously told the BBC. “I do realise that it is a separate exercise being sovereign.”
Charles’ reign will not be an overly-long one, meaning it’s all the more important William works closely with his father. “Charles is going to have a short amount of time, so he’s going to want to establish his own legacy,” says Arbiter. “But he’s going to want to incorporate William because he recognises that the popularity lies on William side.”
Harry and Meghan’s media war
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex continued their campaign for truth in the media this week – Harry revealed he emailed Twitter boss Jack Dorsey saying his social media platform was allowing a coup to be staged, ahead of the Capitol riots in January. Dorsey never replied. Speaking on a panel called The Internet Lie Machine on Tuesday, Harry also said the term Megxit was misogynistic.
Meghan also spoke on Tuesday, calling tabloids toxic at a New York Times event. “Hopefully one day they come with a warning label like cigarettes do, like ‘this is toxic for your mental health’,” she said.
The pair, who attended the Salute to Freedom gala in New York on Wednesday, are also facing new evidence at the Court of Appeal in the UK, for the privacy case with the Mail on Sunday newspaper. Their former communications secretary Jason Knauf gave evidence showing texts and emails from Meghan authorising communication with Finding Freedom biographers Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand. The duchess apologised for misleading the court and said she “had not remembered” the emails about the two-hour meeting with the authors.
Kate’s moving visit
Catherine opened two new galleries in London’s Imperial War Museum on Wednesday and viewed a special exhibition close to her heart.
The duchess, in an Alexander McQueen blouse and navy Catherine Walker coat and trousers, opened the permanent The Second World War Galleries and The Holocaust Galleries. The latter tells the stories of some of the six million Jewish people murdered in the Holocaust through photos, books, art and personal possessions.
She also viewed the exhibition Generations: Portraits of Holocaust Survivors, which is made up of 50 portraits of survivors, taken by photographers, including the Duchess of Cambridge. She contributed two photos she took of Yvonne Bernstein and Steven Frank last year and was reunited with the pair, giving Steven a big cuddle. She said at the time, they were “two of the most life-affirming people” she had ever met and their stories would stay with her forever. Generations: Portraits of Holocaust Survivors runs until January.
TV controversies continue
The Crown Season 5 is again proving controversial, as insiders tip this to be the most contentious series yet. Jemima Khan this week revealed she has backed out of helping write the script, after Diana’s story was not being told as “respectfully” as she had hoped. Diana’s close friend, who had been dating The Crown writer Peter Morgan, says she was keen to help initially, because “it was really important to me that the final years of my friend’s life be portrayed accurately and with compassion, as has not always happened in the past.”
But, she says, that’s not what will be shown on screen, as Elizabeth Debicki takes on the final years of Diana’s life. “When [my] co-writing agreement was not honoured, and when I realised that particular storyline would not necessarily be told as respectfully or compassionately as I had hoped, I requested that all my contributions be removed from the series and I declined a credit,” she said.
The movie Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart, also received criticism for its outlandish plot. Former palace press secretary Dickie Arbiter tweeted, “Today, I wasted 100 minutes of my life and in the process self-harmed - how was that possible? I went to see the film Spencer - in few words it is best described at gratuitous claptrap. Why must they twist the truth about Diana?”
Have a royal afternoon tea
Get ready to party – the Royal Collection Trust has released a range of Platinum Jubilee china to celebrate the Queen’s 70 year reign. It takes inspiration from her coronation robe, set on a purple background and featuring olive branches and wheat ears, symbolising peace and prosperity. The limited-edition range features a cup and saucer set for £65, tea towels for £9.95 and shortbread for £2.95. You can even stir your tea with with a souvenir spoon set, £35. For more, click here.