King Charles III assumes the British crown after 70 years of reign of Elizabeth II, who died on Wednesday afternoon (8). For experts heard by the CNN , the tendency is for Charles to have a discreet and transitional reign. Also, the monarch should have the environment as his main banner, which can help the new king to lower his low popularity.
The oldest person to assume the British crown, Charles III comes to the throne at age 73 and faces the challenge of replacing Queen Elizabeth II, who goes down in history as a “strong, long-lived, credible and charismatic” queen, says the USP researcher. Pedro Costa Junior.
According to him, the new king is not very charismatic and his image is still marked by the turbulent separation from Princess Diana in 1996.
Faced with the difficulties of making major changes in the British monarchy, Charles III must be a “protocol” king, waiting for his firstborn and next in the line of succession to the crown, Prince William, younger and more popular, to promote modernizations, says Leonardo Paz, Qualitative Intelligence Researcher at the Center for Prospecting and International Intelligence at FGV (NPII).
Charles III will take over as head of state at a time of disruption for the United Kingdom. In recent years, the country has left the European Union, in a process that has divided the population and led to the downfall of then-Prime Minister Theresa May.
Plunged into a political and economic crisis – with inflation reaching its highest level in 40 years – Liz Truss took over as minister later this week, on the 6th. Her predecessor, Boris Johnson, left the government after a crisis in his image.
In this scenario, the doctor in International Relations from UNB Angélica Szucko believes that the monarchical regime itself may be questioned, especially among the younger ones.
“I don’t know exactly how the population will react, but I understand that it is a complicated moment indeed. Both because of the fact that he succeeded Queen Elizabeth, and because of the change in the government of the United Kingdom itself. With the departure of Boris Johnson, the current economic crisis and the issue of the war between Russia and Ukraine”, says Szucko.
“He has this challenge of reaffirming the importance of the monarchy within the UK. To try to reconstruct a little bit the image of the monarchy”, says the researcher.
Costa Júnior says that Charles will have to demonstrate whether the monarchy “is really capable of generating this effect of social cohesion within the immense country in many other crises”. According to him, the monarchical regime was massively contested by the British in 1996, in the face of the crisis caused by the separation between Charles and Diana.
Da Paz, however, points out that the monarchy is part of the UK’s cultural heritage. In addition, as it has become a major attraction for tourists, it ends up not being a great financial burden for the population.
The USP researcher believes that Charles III should make small concessions in relation to the demands of the more liberal and pro-European Union part of the population, but that major modernizations should only be implemented in the next reign of Prince William.
Succession
Leonardo Paz says that the possibility was even considered that Charles would give up the throne, so that his son, William, would inherit the crown. The possibility, however, was ruled out in light of the economic situation facing the United Kingdom.
“There was even speculation that he might abdicate the throne, passing it to his eldest son, William. But that debate is already abandoned. Even in the context that the United Kingdom finds itself in, in a political and economic crisis, the population will have more of a posture of gathering in mourning for the queen”, says the researcher.
Historian Alex Catharino, from the Economic Freedom Foundation, says that with the death of Prince Phillips, in April 2021, the rejection of the figure of Charles was softened. According to Catharino, “the human side must prevail”.
“The movement against Charles is, in a way, small. His position at his father’s funeral, very moved, and in the next few days also probably shaken, generate a commotion among the British population. This human side must prevail at the moment”, says Catharino.
For the historian, the notion that Charles’ reign will be “transitional” also tends to make him less unpopular.
“People know it’s a transitional reign. Even though Charles’ reign lasts 20 years, for example, people are looking to the future, to the next Kings William and George.”
Environment must be the main agenda
The heir to the British throne is a longtime environmentalist. In 2021, Charles spoke at the opening of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 26. “The environment will be one of the main themes that King Charles will now raise on his platform as king”, says Leonardo Paz, from FGV.
The professor points out, however, that the office of king has limited political power. “It has little ability to direct foreign policy towards some type of more concrete action, that is the role of the prime minister. The monarchy works as a soft power force, the logic of a power that takes values and ideas”, says Paz.
“The environment is, today, a global agenda and he will try to raise these flags to also engage a little popularity. This previous performance, before the crown, shows that he already has a performance and sensitivity with these causes.”
Photos – Charles III, the new King of England
Source: CNN Brasil
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