Must Charles change?

When something starts to be said with such frequency that it fast becomes the conventional wisdom, one should pause, step back and give it a second thought. In almost every ‘Advice to King Charles’ column I’ve read, and in broadcast commentary too, the same piece of wisdom is being repeated: the new King must now distance himself from his own strong opinions on a range of subjects, and assume an air of neutrality on anything remotely controversial or ‘political’. He must forget, and we must forget, that he once had beliefs.

‘You can do it, Charles,’ we’ve been saying. ‘You can wipe your personal software of all that clutter, empty your personality of its guiding beliefs and passions, and achieve a zen-like absence of commitment to anything but being a dignified and regal blank slate.

So it’s farewell, your Majesty (we say – and I’ve heard myself saying it too); to the Charles who talked to trees, hated having to cosy up to bloodthirsty dictators, and was passionately attached to hopes of saving the planet from global warming; the Charles with strong views about architecture and holistic housing; the Charles with a range of altruistic pet projects that he was never hesitant about promoting; the Charles who privately exploded with indignation at the idea of transporting asylum-seekers to Rwanda.