Royal Drama: The King’s Troubled Family on the Coronation Stage

king Charles III He lives in a palace, travels in a chauffeured Bentley, and is one of Britain’s richest men, but his home life is very complicated.

He has a second wife, an embarrassed brother, an angry son and daughter-in-law, and an ally who doesn’t hesitate to whisper family secrets into a friendly reporter’s ear.

The new king hopes the Royal Blend family will put a lid on such tensions, as 2,800 guests will gather for Prince Charles’ coronation at Westminster Abbey on May 6.all except Meganattended by the Duchess of Sussex.

How Prince Charles manages family drama in the coming weeks and years will be crucial to the king’s efforts to maintain and protect the 1,000-year-old hereditary monarchy. Without public respect, the Windsor family risks falling prey to British tabloids alongside pop stars, social media influencers and reality TV performers, tarnishing the reputation that underpins their role in public life. .

Royal historian Hugo Vickers says people should ignore the sensational headlines and focus on what Charles has accomplished now that he’s king.

“In a way, he’s kind of the new man when he becomes king,” says Vickers, author of “Coronation: The Crowning of Elizabeth II.”

“Look at what he is now, look at the way he approaches everything, look at his positivity, look at how right he has tackled so many issues.” , he has had a difficult time with his marriage and other issues, but we live in very tricky times.”

The show of terror returned last week when the King’s estranged second son, Prince, assaulted Prince Charles. harrydropped Tuesday’s new round of allegations on the royal family in the midst of the coronation hype.

Harry claimed that written evidence of a breach of privacy allegation against a British newspaper prevented his father from filing a lawsuit ten years ago. Prince Charles said he didn’t want to give graphic testimony about his extramarital affair with the late Princess Camilla Parker-Bowles when he married the late Princess Camilla Parker-Bowles. Diana.

Diana was the mother of Harry and his older brother, heir to the throne, Prince of Wales, William. Camilla, now Queen, married Charles in 2005 and was crowned with her husband at Westminster Abbey.

If the past is any indication, attention will turn to body language, seating plans and even wardrobe choices during coronations as royal watchers look for signs that family tensions are easing. .

But Joe Little, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, doesn’t expect Harry to be in frequent contact with other family members. Either way, Harry won’t be staying in the UK for long, so there won’t be much time to fix his fence.

“What we found[on Tuesday]doesn’t really help his cause,” Little said.

Royal melodrama didn’t start with the current generation of royalty. Eventually, Edward VIII sparked a constitutional crisis when he abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson.

Charles’ grandfather, George VI, is credited with saving the monarchy with a modest life of public service after replacing his flamboyant brother. Her late Queen Elizabeth II was a symbol of stability that enhanced her family’s reputation during her 70-year reign, cheered her country on its victories, and consoled it in her darker times. have become.

But with waning respect for the monarchy and under the glare of media attention, Charles grew up in a different era.

He has been a controversial figure since the public breakdown of his marriage to Diana, who was respected by many for her looks and compassion.

Diana claimed there were “three people” in the marriage and pointed the finger at Camilla Parker-Bowles, Charles’ longtime love.

Initially vilified by Diana’s fans, Camilla worked hard to restore her image. We serve as a page of honor.

She supports causes ranging from improving adult literacy to protecting victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. But even that her effort caused tension.

In his memoir, Spare, Harry claimed that senior royals leaked unsavory stories about him to the news media in exchange for more favorable coverage, especially to improve Camilla’s image.

Harry and Meghan were celebrated as the new faces of the monarchy when they married in 2018. A biracial American actress, Meghan brings Hollywood glam to the royal family and many observers believe Windsor I wanted to help connect with young people in an increasingly multicultural country.

As Meghan adjusted to royal life, those hopes were quickly dashed amid allegations that palace officials were indifferent to Meghan’s mental health struggles.

Harry and Meghan left their front-line royal duties three years ago to move to California and have been repeatedly criticizing the Windsor family since.

In a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, they alluded to racism at the palace, claiming an unidentified member of the royal family asked about the unborn baby’s skin color before he was born.

Harry said on the Netflix series that aired last year that the episode was an example of unconscious bias and that the royal family should “learn and grow” and become “part of the solution, not part of the problem”. Said it was possible.

Repeated attacks have sparked speculation for months about whether the couple will be invited to the coronation. The palace finally answered that question when it announced it would remain in California.

And Charles became a toxic time bomb within the royal family when the world learned about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and financier’s longtime girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. has a brother, Prince Andrew.

Epstein, who was convicted of sex crimes in 2008, died in a New York cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on his second count. Maxwell was convicted last year of helping procure a young girl for Epstein and is serving her 20-year sentence in a federal prison in Florida.

Andrew abandoned his royal duties in 2019 after a harrowing interview with the BBC in which he attempted to explain his connection to Epstein and Maxwell. As he prepared to defend a civil suit filed by a woman who claimed she was forced to have sex with the crown prince when she was a teenager, he was stripped of his Army of Honor title and patronage.

Andrew denied the allegations, but settled last year before going to court. Terms of the deal were not announced, but The Sun reported that Charles and the late Queen settled for an estimated £7 million ($8.7 million). reportedly paid most of the money.

“When Charles became king, I think it was inevitable that a lot of personal stuff would come back and haunt him,” Little said. I think I have no choice but to complete the task in front of me.”