The king offers in his first steps a feeling of security as thousands of Scots pay their respects to the late monarch
King Carlos III participated this Monday in religious acts and political meetings. He led the procession of his family and soldiers from the Scottish regiments, accompanying the coffin of Elizabeth II from the royal palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral. He received condolences from the Parliaments of London and Edinburgh, and participated in his mother’s wake. This Tuesday he travels to Northern Ireland.
The mourning for the death of common mortals usually begins a few days later than the event. The commotion is followed by multiple decisions, red tape, visits, ceremonies and even banquets. The death of his mother at Balmoral has added movements, but the design of the succession by the king and his assistants gives him a few days in which the desire for continuity in the institution’s activity seems to overlap with private mourning.
At 73, he shows energy. One of her assistants has revealed to the British press the diet she follows. She eats fruits and seeds for breakfast. He does not eat. Around one o’clock she usually goes for a walk. At five he has tea and sandwiches with his wife, Camila. And at 8:30 p.m. sharp, one more hour in Spain, he has dinner, later than his compatriots. The assistant does not reveal what he has for dinner, but he says that he later returns to his office to work until midnight.
At ten o’clock he went to Parliament to hear Speeches of Condolence at Westminster Hall, where his mother’s coffin will remain until the funeral, when it is transported from Edinburgh tomorrow. It was a different act from the one organized after the accession of the queen in 1952. It was then called a ‘motion of sympathy and devotion to the queen’, but there is no indication in the official notes that the young monarch was present. Winston Churchill was then the main speaker. It was a speech about the king, his widow, and the young queen.
The Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, was the star this time. He recalled that Elizabeth was invited to commemorate the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89, which established Protestant supremacy and that of Parliament over the Crown. He told Hoyle that there is a British style in which Parliament invited the queen to celebrate a revolution that limited the power of the monarchy.
Shock
The king’s speech in response to those of the leaders of the Houses of Lords and Commons also offered no revelations. A new quotation from Shakespeare, a definition of Parliament, a note of his humility in stating that he hopes, with the help of God and the advice of parliamentarians, to fulfill his resolution to follow the example of his mother . The speech of the resigned Boris Johnson is still the best of these days.
The commotion over the death of Isabel II intensely exposes before the world the spectacular rituals and also the frequent tedium in the public activity of monarchs in stable countries. Public acts in such rapid succession also show the endless repetition of institutions and the faith and ambiguity of a varied public.
Among those who crowded the sidewalks of the Royal Mile again on Monday were Scots and Britons whose loyalty to the figure of the deceased queen and the monarchy led them to be present at these events. There are those who want to be direct witnesses of a historical event. There are, in a city like Edinburgh, many tourists. Spanish voices abound these days in the Scottish capital. And there are already people reserving bits of pavement for the funeral processions in London, in seven days.
Two Scotsmen have offered their perspective on the circumstances. Historian Tom Devine, who expressed his support for Scottish independence on the eve of the 2014 referendum and was appointed ‘Sir’ by the queen in 2015, believes that there is no danger to the monarchy in this transition and that Charles III will try to continue the example of his mother.
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown believes the new king will promote “a more informal monarchy.” “In the future, it will be a monarchy more similar to the Scandinavian ones,” according to him. He believes it because of the king’s desire to be closer to the public since his accession or his project to reduce the size of the Royal House.
anecdotes
Four leaders, including Nicola Sturgeon, who had previously met the King, delivered their speeches at the Scottish Parliament’s Motion of Condolence. The chief minister recounted the anecdote of an encounter with the queen at Balmoral in which one of her corgi puppies tried to eat a power cable.
The kilt-clad king responded to the motion with quotes from the national poet, Robert Burns, and powerful words of his own. “My mother found a refuge and a home in the Scottish mountains and in the heart of her people,” said Carlos III.
It was the Prince of Wales’s intention to tour the British nations immediately after accession. The acts can be excessive, tedious, and the speeches very similar to each other, but the new king is offering in his first steps a feeling of continuity and security in a country politically turbulent since the financial crisis of 2008.
The King visits Northern Ireland tomorrow. There will be no courtships or parliamentary sessions there. There is no Parliament, dissolved by the refusal of the main pro-British party, the unionist DUP, to maintain the autonomous institutions while border controls derived from the agreement with the European Union to make ‘Brexit’ a reality remain in force.
Words between the pro-British and pro-Irish parties have hardened and Liz Truss, who took over the British government two days before the queen’s death, has not yet clarified whether she will persist in a confrontation with the EU or modify Johnson’s legacy in that look. These are questions that cannot be resolved by the king.
As Prince of Wales, Charles visited Northern Ireland on numerous occasions and chatted with political leaders who were also running the IRA when he assassinated his godfather and adviser, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India. Irish Republicans have expressed their condolences on the death of Elizabeth II. Perhaps the memory of his godfather will accompany him on his first visit to the region as king.
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