One of the many reasons the late Queen Elizabeth II was so beloved was that she was scrupulous about political neutrality. She maintained a public silence for seven decades to ensure the monarch’s job remained above politics. That very few people have stepped forward even after her death with tidbits about what she thought about anything shows how discreet she was, even in private.
I hope that her son, King Charles, who was finally coronated this past weekend, will approach her level of remove from politics. In the eight months since his mother’s death, he has behaved well.
But Nigel Farage, the former leader of the Brexit Party and host of a talk show with GB News, says Charles bears watching, given his history over the 53 years he was prince of Wales. “There’s no telling when he will give into temptation,” Farage told Newsmax TV.
Historian Jenny Hocking says that Charles “makes no bones about” being more political on issues ranging from the treatment of minorities to the environment. She told the Daily Express, “Many people have been disturbed by the way in which Charles, far more overtly than the Queen, has engaged in political matters.”
Indeed, he has long been known as “an environmentalist king-in-waiting.” Writing in Newsweek in 2022, then-prince Charles warned about climate change, saying, “The world is on the brink, and we need the mobilizing urgency of a war-like footing if we are to win.”
The British monarchy has always been a tool of soft power, both inside and outside Britain. We can only hope that King Charles, after waiting decades in the wings, won’t now seize the temptation to parade whatever “woke” views he has before the public. The stability of the monarch, which Elizabeth so enhanced, could easily be jeopardized.