What will Charles III’s reign look like?

The last time a monarch acceded to the throne, her subjects had to wait ten months to hear her speak. Elizabeth II was only 25 and had her whole adult life before her. The public were more patient in those days and the media was an entirely different creature, moving at a slower pace. 

It was not until Christmas Day 1952 that the British heard their Queen (by now 26) begin: ‘Each Christmas, at this time, my beloved father broadcast a message to his people in all parts of the world. Today I am doing this to you, who are now my people…’

In 2022, we had to wait all of 24 hours before hearing Charles III outline his vision for his reign. He did so in a speech which, by common consent, hit the right note (a YouGov poll days later gave it a 94 per cent approval rating). Since then, he has maintained a similarly frantic pace, whether
in terms of new coinage, new stamps or, indeed, coronation arrangements.

There has been some grumbling about the last-minute nature of the preparations for Saturday’s event, not to mention the guest list – and outbreaks of FOMO among those previously unfamiliar with the condition.  Following a ration of just 50 seats apiece for the Lords and Commons and a near wipe-out of the hereditary peerage, the ‘fear of missing out’ has reached the highest echelons. Traditionalists mutter privately about the King and his master of ceremonies, the Earl Marshal, ‘going woke’. They point to the 75 per cent reduction in seating capacity compared with 1953 and a very different dress code (morning dress or lounge suits this time, vs the coronation robes or breeches and velvet court dress of yesteryear).