Royal guards in full costume, the reading of a royal act, trumpets and a crowd cheering for their new king… It could have been like traveling back in time, if the Brits weren’t holding on smartphones and cameras, whose modernity clashes with the ceremonial. “It’s a bit like looking at history without the internet”sums up Stephen, a lifelong Londoner.
>> Charles III: between family scandals and political interventionism, the winding journey of the prince who became king
This Saturday morning, September 10, in London, King Charles III was officially proclaimed sovereign of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As tradition dictates, the reading of his proclamation was then given on the balcony of Saint-James Palace, where the Privy Council sits, in charge of advising the British sovereign. It must also be read in the other kingdoms that make up the country.
And the word is in everyone’s mouths at the end of the ceremony: it’s a moment “historical”. “We can say ‘we were there’, it’s incredible to witness something like that”, entrusts Glynn, came two of her friends, Erika and Rebecca. An enthusiasm shared a little further by Sandra Beveridge. Came from Edinburgh with the family for a weekend in London, she is delighted “coincidence. It’s part of the story that is playing out.”
#KingCharlesIII https://t.co/NC8Q6RwtJF
— Theo U. (@theo_uhrt) September 10, 2022
You had to be motivated to attend this official announcement on the balcony: more than two hours of queuing to stomp and get impatient. In the waiting crowd, they mocked a Boris Johnson “only interested in the money”, we complained about the new British Prime Minister Liz Truss, forced to manage a change of sovereign two days after her arrival, but above all, we were talking about the royal family. Jessica Beveridge, a teenager, confided as well as “It felt weird to think that for the rest of his life, he would be a king” (because after Charles will come William, his son, then George). Further, a group of women recounted their affection for Queen Elizabeth II. The name of the new king was obviously in everyone’s conversation.
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Jean Thompson, 66, who came to lay flowers for the Queen and attend the event, has empathy for Charles, who is going through “a difficult time”. “You have to give him time”she said, assured that he will be “very good. He had time to prepare”she smiles.
At 73, he is indeed the oldest sovereign to accede to the British throne. And overall, in a crowd won over to the monarchy, Charles is already unanimous. “His speech yesterday was very moving, he did it from the heart”greets Sandra. “We hope he will succeed”Hazel Vaieghen said more cautiously. “It will be different, in its own way”completes her husband Martyn.
But isn’t Charles too committed, especially in favor of the environment, to win the favor of all his people? Martyn brushes it off.
“If you don’t fight for the planet, then why? He did it long before the politicians. And he doesn’t say how to do it, he says you have to do it. It’s not politics, it’s just.”
Martin Vaieghenat franceinfo
“It’s the only road to the future”, believes for her part Sandra Beveridge, not bothered by the king’s commitment either. Others, who rather support the environmental cause, hope “that he will shut up”. If they approved the approach of the prince, they believe that the king must remain above the fray. “We are waiting for his son [le prince William] resume his fights and walk in his footsteps”says Rebecca.
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Nobody therefore to evoke Diana or her lobbying with the Blair government, as if, by becoming king, her past had disappeared with her unpopularity. Many even confessed a regret at the end of the ceremony: that the king did not come to take a walk. The British are therefore already waiting for their new king and are still enthusiastic about monarchical folklore. The Crown probably still has a long life ahead of it, no matter which head it rests on.