King Charles had a complicated start to his reign, in particular by the accusations of Harry and Meghan. But if he is obviously much less popular than Queen Elizabeth was, his reserve and his silence in the face of attacks reassure the British.
It happened in Colchester on March 7, but also in Milton Keynes on February 16, and before that on November 9 in York. On several occasions, King Charles and his wife Camilla were targeted with egg throwing, greeted with hostile phrases like “Why are you wasting our money?”, and placards reading “Not my king” ( not my king).
Fond of crowd baths and handshakes, at each of his meetings with his subjects, the king did not seem to care about these troublemakers at the start of his reign. As the attacks of his son Harry seem to slip on him by documentary and book interposed.
“King Charles was never expected to be instantly as popular as the late Queen Elizabeth,” notes royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams.
For him, however, these few demonstrations are only isolated acts and do not testify to a detestation of the sovereign. The percentage of Republicans in the country is still around 22%, underlines Richard Fitzwilliams and has not changed since his accession to the throne 6 months ago. “Charles is reasonably popular”, estimates the specialist, relaying the recent polls which place the sovereign at 56% of favorable opinions (against 12% of people who dislike it).
Difficult start to reign
The first months of the reign of Charles, who succeeded the very popular Queen Elizabeth on her death on September 8, were not spared by scandals and controversy.
The latest, recalls Richard Fitzwilliams, dates back to his meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, whom he received at Windsor Castle at the end of February, on the sidelines of the signing of the post-Brexit agreement on Northern Ireland. While he pledged in his very first speech as king not to be an activist monarch, he was strongly criticized for this meeting with the president of the European Commission, in particular by Northern Irish unionists.
“It’s part of his job,” however assures Richard Fitzwilliams, for whom the Downing Street and Buckingham press releases rather blurred the message. “Buckingham released a statement saying he met her on the advice of the government, while 10 Downing Street released a statement saying it was he who decided it. Which is contradictory and very bizarre.”
A very discreet king
But Charles has also rather thwarted the fears that the British could have about him, appearing as a silent king, after having been a clumsy and interventionist prince.
This earned him “a gain in popularity”, analyzes Philip Turle, British journalist, international columnist for France 24. “There was a real fear that his reign would be a disaster, that he was going to say what he thought , talk nonsense, take positions on global warming, yell at people. The British are rather pleasantly surprised at the start of Charles III’s reign”.
His dignity and his apparent phlegm plead in his favor. While we saw him, at the very beginning of his reign, lose his temper because of a leaky pen, he remained quite stoic in the face of repeated accusations from Meghan and Harry, in their documentary series, in December on Netflix, then in Harry’s Memoirs, in January.
“Regarding Meghan and Harry, he showed a lot of wisdom and did something that no one expected of him,” said Richard Fitzwilliams, referring to Charles’ decision to deprive the couple, now based in California, of their British residence in Frogmore. Cottage.
“Many Britons are tired of Harry and Meghan, do not understand the prince’s position vis-à-vis his family and therefore approve of the fact that they are deprived of their home in the United Kingdom”, abounds Philip Turle.
Harry’s many revelations about the royal family ultimately benefited Charles more than harmed him. “Curiously, the way Charles handled the attacks from Harry and Meghan increased his popularity,” notes Philip Turle. “The public also felt a certain pity for Charles, because of the way he was treated by his youngest son.”
Accusations of racism
The couple’s accusations, however, shook the monarchy at first. Starting with the accusations of racism, insinuated during the interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.
Meghan and Harry’s remarks that members of the royal family had expressed “concerns (…) about how dark (the) skin (of her unborn child) would be”, had been particularly devastating for the monarchy.
These allegations, as well as the evocation of the mental health problems of Meghan never discussed or treated while she was in the United Kingdom, have “harmed the royal family, especially among young Britons”, underlines Richard Fitzwilliams.
Especially since the couple waited almost two years to go back on their remarks. In January 2023, Prince Harry denied accusing his family of racism while promoting his book. Confirming that “there had been concerns about (his) skin color”, Harry assured that “having lived in this family”, he did not consider this as racism, but rather as “unconscious prejudice”.
Rising popularity
If he is now accepted by the British, King Charles has come a long way. He has long dragged the Diana years and his infidelity with Camilla like a ball, memories recently revived by the Netflix series The Crown.
“He was the most unpopular prince in Great Britain. Not only for the way he treated Diana, but also for his positions which had nothing to do with a future monarch”, recalls Philip Turle.
While Queen Elizabeth has never expressed her opinion in public, Charles when he was a prince did not have the same reservation. He has thus intervened a lot on the subjects that are close to his heart, from ecology to architecture, not hesitating to write to the government.
If his son Harry has made his life difficult lately, his biggest competitor is Prince William, who seems much more popular with the British, just like his wife Kate.
“The fear for Charles and Camilla is that William be more popularand that Charles be considered an interim king”, analyzes Philip Turle.
“Charles is someone extremely fragile, uncomfortable in his skin”. As a child, he suffered a lot from the many absences of his parents, and their lack of affection. He then dragged his unhappiness to school where he was very unhappy, and harassed by his classmates.
Very different from his father, William is much more in the mold than his father and much more comfortable. Much more lenient with him than with her son, Queen Elizabeth took him under her wing and trained him for the role of future king.
“William won’t have Charles’ personal background, especially that related to Diana, which a lot of people still remember,” adds Richard Fitzwilliams.
Little liked, Charles will finally succeed in making himself appreciated by his subjects. “So far, Charles has managed his mother’s suite very well. The British are grateful to him for that. They don’t like Charles, but he has made a very good start to his reign so far,” concludes Philip Turle.
