After Elizabeth's death...
Mystery shrouds the future of the British crown more than ever
The new British Prime Minister was the last person the Queen met before her death.
Reuters
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Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Britain, passed away last Thursday, at the age of 96, leaving behind a history full of events, during the long period in which she rose to the throne of the country.
And now, after her departure, question marks began to impose themselves on the future of Britain, after Elizabeth, who has long been considered a "balance pomegranate" for the country's political life, for several years.
Writer Yasmine Sarhan said, in a report published by the American magazine "Time": "The almost universal phrase that was echoed in the eulogy of the late Queen Elizabeth II, her role was a symbol of stability in Britain, as well as a fixed figure in an increasingly changing world."
reference point
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson described her in his eulogy on Friday: "It was an unchanging human reference point in British life."
Sarhan says: “The Queen has also been Britain's star and a source of comfort, at a time when the turmoil seems endless, more than just a symbolic face of the nation.
The challenge now facing the country is how to proceed without it.”
"While the way forward for Britain is clear (it has been there many times before), the future of the British monarchy appears less certain."
King Charles III inherits the throne at a time when the monarchy as an institution still enjoys widespread support in Britain, with a slight majority of 62% in favour, according to a June poll.
But the outpouring of support and admiration for the Queen should not be mixed with unwavering support for the royal family as a whole, especially after the recent fallout over the treatment of Prince Harry and Meghan, as well as allegations of sexual abuse facing her son Prince Andrew.
"The biggest test facing the new king is whether he can emulate his mother's image of stability and preservation of the institution she spent so much of her life trying to protect," says Sarhan.
The Queen, who ascended the throne at just 25 years old, has had the age to prove herself.
Charles, at 73, the oldest monarch in British history, would not have the same advantage.
Much of Charles' public image has been shaped by his tenure as Prince of Wales, including difficult periods in his private life, including his relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles, who now takes the title Queen Consort, and his separation from Princess Diana, as well as His vocal stances on wide-ranging issues such as climate change, hedging, China, and the British government's controversial methods of disrupting immigration.
While the Queen has maintained a reputation for impartiality, choosing to rise above discord and leave politics to the politicians, Prince Charles has done just the opposite, even going so far as to delve into the highest levels of politics when he wrote a series of letters in 2004 and 2005 known as The Black Spider's Diary. He lobbied government ministers on a number of issues.
active tendencies
"Charles has activist tendencies," said Richard Fitzwilliams, an expert on the royal family.
Probably because for the vast majority of his life his primary job was to pursue his interests through his various foundations and charities.”
"Charles does not have the same level of ambiguity that Queen Elizabeth II acquired, with great success over her lifetime," Brock Newman, a historian concerned with early modern Britain at Virginia Commonwealth University, told Time magazine.
Apart from her love of corgis and horses, “Elizabeth was very careful not to express a position on many things.
She has become a symbol all over the world, because people can project their hopes and dreams and fantasies and anger on her and on the establishment, because she embodied the crown in a way that I think would be impossible for Charles to do, because he already represents certain things.”
But in order for the monarchy to continue to be seen as a source of national unity, and for the king to be able to carry out his ceremonial duties without inviting claims of partisanship, something that even at times haunted his mother's strictly neutral reign, Fitzwilliam said: 'The new king would need to keep His opinions are under control.
Charles has admitted this fact in the past, and in his first national address since his accession to the throne, he admitted that as his role changed, it would no longer be possible for him to give so much of his time and energies to charities and the causes he deeply cares about.
Preserve the symbolic value
Preserving the symbolic value of the royal family is only part of the new king's challenge.
Another is ensuring that the institution remains fit for purpose at a time when ownership and the privileges of inheritance seem increasingly outdated.
Here, Charles and his mother were largely closed off.
Both recognized the inevitability of reducing the royal family, both in terms of cost to taxpayers and public appearance, in line with public opinion.
Under Charles, the effort is expected to be taken even further, by reducing the royal family to just seven active working royals tasked with participating in official engagements, meeting foreign dignitaries, and representing the king in their absence, down from the current 10.
But unlike his mother, Charles will not bear the burden of looking after the crown for the next 70 years.
It only needs to do this long enough to pass it on to the next generation in a healthy state.
For the monarchy to continue to be seen as a source of national unity, and for the king to be able to carry out his ceremonial duties without inviting claims of partisanship, something that haunted his mother's sometimes strictly neutral reign, the new king will need to keep his views in check.
The Queen has been Britain's star and a source of comfort at a time when the turmoil seems never-ending, more than just a symbolic face to the nation. The challenge now facing the country is how to proceed without it.
The almost universal phrase echoed in the eulogy of the late Queen Elizabeth II, her role was a symbol of Britain's stability, as well as an enduring figure in an increasingly changing world.
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