Charles is a wandering country king

By throwing a grand event with a polished extravaganza, the Brits can do just that. The coronation of the oldest monarch in British history was staged to perfection in London. It had to be a spectacle, it became a spectacle. A ceremony filled with references to thousands of years of royal and religious history. With modern elements, such as a gospel band and the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

On Saturday, the United Kingdom crowned the king it had known for a long time. Charles, 74, looked a little nervous in the first part of Westminster Abbey. It wasn’t until he had the crown on his head and his son William kissed him on the cheek that he relaxed and seemed positive about the future.

For a leader without electors, for this is the king after all, the coronation is an important moment to secure his mandate and prove his worth. How crowded are the streets, how many people tune their TV to party, and is the monarchy still alive?

The coronation of Charles III, this Saturday, has captured the world’s attention. That was predetermined. Nothing noticeably wrong. It was a fairy tale, the king was raped by lovers.

However, there was not always so much revelry in the United Kingdom, as if the gloomy look with which Charles took the crown on his head was reflected in the British people. Because it was a gloomy day. It rained in England for hours on end. People stayed at home, and the big screens set up in the cities were only moderately visited. The sun only rose on Sunday this coronation weekend, and people could dance and drink during street parties across the country.

As for Charles, we hope that young people in particular will get a little more excited this weekend. In the UK, support for the monarchy is under pressure, especially among young people. A majority of 62 percent want to preserve the monarchy, but this number is much lower among young people, at 36 percent.

Optimistic and amazing

The British media advanced an hour-long live broadcast. The BBC, which has previously been criticized for being too positive in its coverage of the royal family, has attracted 20 million viewers with beautiful images and helpful commentary. Sunday papers came in editions for preservation filled with full-page photographs and reports, enlarged in every detail. So many wonderful scenes. “Britain at its most hopeful and exciting,” he wrote. Daily Mail. On the front page, the paper ran a photo of Charles and Camilla looking at each other during the balcony scene, with the headline: The look that says, “Honey, it was a triumph.”

I saw a scene that looked like a relic of a forgotten time

Sam McBride Belfast Telegraph

Sunday times He praised the king for keeping the traditional elements intact but also showed that he is the king of the 21st century. Anyone who watched Charles’ coronation would have seen a king and country that values ​​tradition but moves on. A king who knew great misery but was capable of joy. A king willing to wait for the big moment, but also eager to seize it when the time comes. A monarchy that adapts so that it can continue to exist.” Only Prince Harry was there, not Meghan and their children, according to her times He points out that Charles also has some work to do in his private life.

Watchman He even wrote a classic review and awarded it four out of five stars. It was “an occasion worthy of remembrance that we as a nation seem infinitely better at organizing public spectacles than we are at governing the country”. The reviewer thought the funniest thing was the arrival of the former Tory prime ministers. “It turned out to be the longest parade of the day.”

Read a report The quintessential village of King Charles celebrates his coronation in the least

So the show was a success, according to the British media, despite the gloomy weather. The big question is: Could Charles be more than the protagonist of a hit play? Author Hilary Mantel once described seeing Charles at a literary award ceremony. First there is the King, then the Crown Prince, in all his glory. It’s a great picture. Then out of the corner of her eye she sees the room next to the hall where the king is, full of stacked chairs, and sees the façade, the behind-the-scenes picture that the king could not miss either.

That’s how it should always be when you’re Charles, writes Mantel. “You see your life is a show, your surroundings made of cardboard, peeling paint, worn rugs, and if you keep seeing the loyalty fade from people’s faces, and then the backs they turn when they bring their collars, zip their jackets and walk away, back to real life.”

The protesters are not in the picture

On coronation day, the façade looked equally perfect. Republican demonstrators in Trafalgar Square were pushed away behind a makeshift press tower and their banners and banners were not displayed by the BBC. This also applies to the rain-soaked crowds in Hyde Park trying to catch a bit of the party between the umbrellas on the big screens in Hyde Park: the stands all the way up were closed early by the police. In the end, the police arrested 52 activists. Critics believe that democracy has not shown its best side with this.

But the interface is limited. After the weekend, the UK has to keep going. It is a state that now has nearly twice as many food banks as McDonald’s. Charles became the king of a struggling country with growing poverty and a faltering economy. Political commentator Sam McBride belfast telegraph, I saw a scene that “felt like a relic from a forgotten time.” It will have reassured many Britons “after years of disequilibrium due to political upheaval and national deflation”.

With chariot, horses, trumpets, ceremonial and crown and sword, the coronation was actually a lot like a fairy tale. But not all fairy tales end happily.

A version of this article also appeared in the May 8, 2023 Journal.