The New Monarchy
Much was made of the new “family portrait” released by the British monarchy this week. It shows now-King Charles and Consort Camilla, along with Prince William and Princess Kate. All are dressed in black…no uniforms, jewels, robes, crowns, or other trappings. Black dresses for the women, black suits and ties for the men.
Royal watchers are trying read tea leaves to decipher what any of it means. Why were Harry and Meghan not included? Why do they all stand as if on equal footing and stature? Why are they standing at all?
It might well not have been worth your time to think much about it; that’s probably the best approach.
But to put a reasonable spin on it…the current monarch will not serve as long as his predecessor; after all, if he did, he’d be 143 years old when he was done—highly unlikely.
Is it unreasonable to presume that Charles knows his reign will not be long? Even if he lives as long as his parents, that’s relatively speaking “only” a 20 year run.
And you probably don’t recall a similar family picture at any point with the current-and-future monarchs prominently featured…again, suggesting that Elizabeth hung on as long as she did because she did not want to hand it over to Charles, the heir-in-waiting…and waiting…and waiting.
So with all of that…the photo makes sense. The current king reminds us that the future king—apparently popular with subjects—will be along sooner than later, so all this talk of getting rid of the monarchy or that the new guy can’t handle the job can be put aside. Father using son for broader family gain, if you will…not necessarily a bad move, in this age of social media and gossip channels.
I have no insight on any of this, but that hasn’t stopped others from weighing in…Charles keeps the throne until he’s 80 or 85, meaning William takes over at 45 or 50 and passing of the crown then resumes the more normal time frame as opposed to seven decades. In the meantime, William’s profile continues to be enhanced as he studies further for the one job he’s known he’ll always have.
Above all, none of that really matters for our lives, which makes it far easier to dissect and discuss than actual issues we face. Call it a brief diversion in a far too serious time.
