Global Courant 2023-04-30 22:36:37
Charles III, who will be crowned on May 6, was one of Britain’s most underappreciated royals until he ascended the throne, and while his popularity has improved, he now faces the challenge of piloting a complicated monarchical modernization.
The new king was proclaimed in a sober ceremony on September 10, 2022, two days after the death of his mother, in whose immense shadow he had always lived.
Elizabeth II, who died at the age of 96, remains the most popular figure of the royal family despite her death (80% in the first quarter of 2023, according to YouGov), followed by her daughter Ana (66%) and her grandson Guillermo ( 65%).
Along with his popular wife Catalina (65%), the 40-year-old prince is called to reign after Carlos III, who at 74 must pave the way between the very traditional monarchy of his mother and the modern royalty promised by the young woman. couple.
After his arrival on the throne, the very low popularity he had as a prince skyrocketed, now placing him in fifth place, with 55%.
In his multiple trips, he strove to be close and warm, as well as active in diplomatic issues such as the war in Ukraine and collaborative in sensitive issues such as the investigation of the historical ties of the monarchy with slavery.
However, it fails to consolidate its image, especially among the youngest, despite sharing with them a long-standing passion for ecology and the fight against climate change.
Under the slogan “Not my king” (not my king), protests have multiplied in recent months and several young people have been tried for throwing eggs at him, although they never reached him.
– Less pomp and more diplomacy –
Seeking to appear less pompous and more modern than Isabella II, Carlos III opted for a simplified, hour-long coronation ceremony with some 2,000 guests, instead of the three hours and 8,000 attendees his mother had in 1953.
But it will not be without controversy, with the presence of his youngest son, Harry, 38, who in a documentary series and an explosive autobiography described the British monarchy as a cold and biased institution.
As a prince, Carlos always had a reputation for being politically meddlesome, and some of his statements sparked diplomatic incidents. But as a king he is discreet.
After a Brexit that distanced his country from the European Union, he decided that his first state visit in March, even before his coronation, would be to the two pillars of the bloc: France and Germany.
Violent protests against pension reform eventually forced him to cancel the trip to Paris, but in Berlin he became the first monarch to address the German Parliament.
– From Camila to Diana to Camila –
Born on November 14, 1948 at Buckingham Palace, Carlos Felipe Arturo Jorge Windsor was the first of four children born to Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
He was a shy and sensitive boy when he was made Prince of Wales in 1958. Then he was sent to study at an austere boarding school in Scotland that his father had attended and that instead of forging a rude character was “absolute hell” for him.
In 1970, he became the first heir to the British crown with a diploma, from Cambridge University, where he studied archeology and anthropology.
Between 1971 and 1976 he served in the British Navy. To her bewilderment, while on a mission in the Caribbean, the love of her life, Camilla Shand, married Andrew Parker Bowles.
Under pressure to marry, in February 1981 he proposed to Diana Spencer, then 19 years old.
The wedding took place in July and was a great national celebration. But for decades her image was marked by the resounding failure of that marriage.
The couple separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996, when Carlos was already having an affair with Camilla, divorced in 1995.
After Diana’s death in a traffic accident in Paris in 1997, Carlos needed a public relations campaign to overcome his unpopularity.
In 2005 he married Camila, extroverted and smiling, who ended up winning the sympathy of the British.
In the last years of her mother’s reign she took on numerous royal functions, as the aging queen’s health deteriorated.
