King Charles The Third - the world is deeply proud of you.
It couldn't have been easy to be the man waiting in the wings to become the King of England. In fact, it must have been unbearable at times because he must have known that he'd be following in the footsteps of a woman and mother so enormously loved and respected by not only the whole of the United Kingdom but the Commonwealth and the whole world. He's been biding his time, looking up in sheer awe and wonderment at his mother and now suddenly he is that man who's in charge, the King of England and all of the dominions, islands and farthermost corners of the globe.
For the past week or so, King Charles the Third has been entertaining huge numbers of both the USA and now Bermuda. In a fetching beige jacket and, yesterday, the nattiest of sun glasses and smiling warmly for his all of his most devoted supporters, Charles stole the show, grabbed the headlines and just bowled everybody with that now familiar charm offensive. He cracked jokes, made all manner of well judged and perceptive comments about life in general and looked very happy.
There must have been frequent moments throughout Charles life when it would have been easier to just withdraw from the public eye, hide away in some secluded spot well away from the Press and massive armies of cameramen and women, poking their lenses most intrusively into every move that Charles has made ever since he was born. And of course we love the royals and, for as long as any of us can remember, the gossipy and voyeuristic have been persistent and insistent for anything that resembles scandal and notoriety. A line has to be drawn in the sand at some point but we continue to watch.
And yet earlier on this week in the highest circles of American political life, King Charles, with his wife Queen Camilla, joined up with American president Donald Trump with his wife Melania and it all went off swimmingly and successfully. In all honesty, it could hardly have gone any better for all parties concerned. Charles giggled his way through a speech about a bell he'd just been presented with and then did his comedy club act with hilarious references about Trump's mother idolising King Charles the Third.
Once again the Royal Family is back in the public domain, still engaging, still shrugging off the sniggering cynics and just getting on with the business of every day living. For King Charles, the last couple of months have been both very trying, problematic and challenging. His brother Andrew has been dramatically knocked down several notches in the estimation of the British public, before enduring outright humiliation when it was discovered that Andrew Mountbatten of Windsor had now become so blatantly shamed and held to account for his disgraceful antics.
Today King Charles the Third is a liberated figure, a man released from the chains of oppressive attention, constant scrutiny, comfortable with the man he'd always wanted to be. He is now with the woman who he should have married in the first place but had to wait for almost a lifetime. He is now venturing into new territories, metaphorically of course, since beforehand, he must have been living in a world where some might have regarded him as a figure of fun and ridicule.
But no longer is Charles perceived as an eccentric character, the man who openly talked to plants and flowers and whose love life, before he married the late and much loved Princess Diana, was often a source of much amusement. Charles was the man who ran away from a girl chasing after him on an Australian beach. Charles was the man who declared he was in love with Princess Diana and then realised that he was really in love with Camilla Parker Bowles.
So for years and decades, Charles endured life knowing that one day his beloved mother the late and adored Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, would die and he would have to take over as King of England. The burden of responsibility looked as though it had been too hard to bear. And yet, after all the formalities of the Coronation with Queen Camilla, Charles has emerged with flying colours.
His relationship with his sons the now Prince of Wales William and Harry has always been solid, unquestioned and loving. There is, of course, a long shadow falling darkly over Harry and his wife Megan because Harry has seemingly divided the whole family with some of his more hurtful and wounding comments. Then there was the book and that seemed to be the most unforgivable sin. But Charles is renowned for his resilience and strength of character and he is now saying all the right things.
He wanders around the world as if the weight of the world has been lifted from his shoulders. He sits respectfully alongside members of the Senate and Donald Trump, perhaps biting his lip in embarrassment because Trump probably reminds Charles of the late Spike Milligan. Trump is this larger than life character who might have been Milligan's scriptwriter in another age. So Charles looks up to Trump trying desperately hard not to burst into uncontrollable laughter.
So it is that the King of England delivers his speech with perfect diction and quite the most perfect elegance. He talks of that enduring relationship between USA and America. He refers to their mutual understanding and appreciation of each other, that special bond and rapport that can never be broken. More so than ever Charles remains a commendable source of strength and duty to country. And we take our hat off to him because that's important.
There is a sense here of royal reinvention because for all the trials and tribulations King Charles the Third may have suffered over the years, his spirit is unquenchable. So let's raise a toast to the King because the monarchy, although severely attacked at times by an unforgiving public, still has the capacity to work wonders for tourism, commerce and global perceptions. Some may believe that is not just good enough and but for those with an unqualified admiration for the Royal Family, we can only extended our heartfelt best wishes to them. We think they thoroughly deserve all of the appropriate accolades. Thankyou King Charles and Third and your wonderful family.
