At stake, royal watchers say, is the public standing of the British monarchy, which during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II has enjoyed virtually unwavering support. Yet despite a relatively successful campaign to improve Charles’s image, an Ipsos Mori poll last week showed a greater percentage calling for William to leapfrog Charles to the throne than at any point since the 1997 death of Charles’s ex-wife and William’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. Forty-six percent of respondents now say Charles should step aside.
Britons are likely to get Charles as king, whether they like it or not. The succession of Charles, who as of last week has spent more time waiting for the crown than any other heir in British history, is enshrined by law and unlikely to be changed. Although Elizabeth may be on Facebook and the Friday wedding may be wired for YouTube, royal experts say the monarchy’s hereditary tradition still stands above the whims of public opinion.
But the popularity gap between father and son is nevertheless hanging over the coming reign of Charles III — a man poised to rank among the most controversial monarchs of recent times.
Charles faces a quandary over whether his beloved should receive the title “queen” — in his case, Camilla, Britain’s most famous home wrecker during Charles’s marriage to Diana and now his second wife. At the same time, William will be taking up a new life with Middleton, an elegant young woman of non-noble blood whose skyrocketing public popularity, royal watchers say, is greatly enhancing William’s starlight.
“In an age of celebrity, you can’t deny that glamour counts, and here we have this youthful, popular man in the wings with his new and attractive wife,” said Roy Greenslade, a British media commentator. “So what you’ve got now is the factor of people saying, ‘Gosh, wouldn’t it be nice to have him instead?’ ”
It illustrates the challenges ahead for the idiosyncratic Charles, the 62-year-old scion of the House of Windsor who once said that it was important to talk to plants and whose mumbling, upper-crust accent has long been a British comedian’s best friend.
Connecting with public
Charles spent the past decade and a half clawing back for respect lost during the “Battle of the Waleses” with Diana. He is viewed by a good many as having rehabilitated himself as a positive father figure and has won kudos for championing causes such as environmentalism before they were fashionable. Even Camilla is seen in a more positive light, viewed as a supportive wife and a somewhat hip stepmother.
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