King Charles is crowned
King Charles III, who became King on the passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II last September, will ceremonially ascend to the throne.
ON Saturday evening (Australian time), the world will witness an event not seen in almost 70 years – the coronation of a British monarch.
King Charles III, who became King on the passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II last September, will ceremonially ascend to the throne.
As the Queen noted, the crown of the British monarch is physically heavy to wear – but we might add, figuratively too. Charles III’s reign begins at a time of sweeping change, and in Australia, more than half the population now prefers us to become a republic.
Australians are “a country of Elizabethans”, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull once famously said. Turnbull, who spearheaded the failed 1999 Republic referendum, observed that many Australians had a longstanding affectionate view of the Queen, but once her epic reign ended, the nation might find itself reassessing its constitutional arrangements.
At his age, Charles can only hope to emulate a fraction of his mother’s reign But additionally, attitudes locally may significantly foreshorten the period he will be King of Australia.
Like all senior British royals, Charles has lived in a glass bowl; the private twists and turns of his life probed by Fleet Street’s predatory red-top tabloids, the gossip magazines and TV’s various expositions, including The Crown. It is difficult to know where fact and fiction meet. The Diana legacy – and his tenuous relationship with son Prince Harry – weigh heavily.
But Charles has been a strong, enthusiastic supporter of Jewry. Google around just an instant, and you’ll see a YouTube clip of him dancing at Chanukah with British Holocaust survivors. He had a close relationship with the late Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. Many will recall his role as patron and leading funder of a Jewish centre in Krakow, Poland. Charles’ warmth towards the Jewish community is a family legacy. His paternal grandmother Princess Alice of Battenberg rescued a Jewish family in Greece during the Shoah and is buried at Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives.
High-profile Jewish Australians Mark Leibler and Rabbi Benjamin Elton, who have met Charles, are confident he will be an effective monarch.
We wish King Charles III and the Queen Consort Camilla a long, happy reign, and exclaim: “God Save The King.”
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