King Carlos III between protests and great challenges in the United Kingdom

By Ernesto Hernandez Lacher

International writing

The new king is one of the least appreciated members of the British royal family to take the throne, according to analysts, and although his popularity has risen little by little over the months, he now has a difficult task ahead of him.

Preserving the unity of the British kingdom, environmental issues, reviewing the colonial past, modernizing some aspects of the monarchy and managing family disputes will be some of the challenges for the new king.

To do this, Carlos III must maintain the monarchy in the fifteen kingdoms he inherited, some of which are as important as Canada, Australia or New Zealand.

In the Caribbean, Jamaica plans to hold a referendum in 2024 to choose between the Republic or the British Crown as head of state, while countries such as Belize seek to follow the same path.

Carlos III will also have to reorient relations with the old continent after Brexit (the UK’s exit from the European Union), which is why his first visit to the country was Germany, which is considered the locomotive of society.

Protests, coronation background

During the lavish inauguration of now UK King Charles III and his wife Camilla, republican protesters took to the streets of London and Cardiff in Wales, resentful of the monarchy and its excessive spending in the midst of a major economic crisis.

In the capital, the Metropolitan Police reported dozens of arrests for offenses such as disturbing public order and conspiracy in an environment that included booing and slogans disregarding the coronation.

Angered by protesters amid an economic crisis that prevents a very few from paying electricity bills and buying basic supplies, some chanted, “It’s not mine.”

The solemn ceremony took place in Westminster Abbey, presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, Archbishop of the Church of England, and was attended by 2,200 people in intermittent rain.

Many supporters of the royal family thronged the streets of London and millions watched the ceremony from home, but few Britons questioned the waste at such a lavish event, as the cost of living crisis still gripped the country.

This was reflected in several media outlets alluding to ever-high inflation, years of stagnant wages, as well as a sudden and sharp rise in energy prices at a cost to millions of citizens on the brink of poverty.

The exact amount of celebration expenses is unknown, as the government has not disclosed this figure, but media estimates put it at between £50-100 million ($100-150 million).

Meanwhile, real wages, including bonuses, have fallen 3 percent since November last year, according to the Office for National Statistics, one of the largest declines since records began in 2001.

The well-known Trafalgar Square was one of the main centers where demonstrators gathered, holding anti-monarchy banners and pictures of Princess Diana.

Meanwhile, there were demonstrations in Scotland in favor of independence with their center in the streets of Glasgow, where a protest called by the AUOB took place.

Foreign ownership is present in the investment

For the first time, monarchs from other countries took part in the coronation of a British monarch, including the kings of Spain, Felipe VI and Letizia, who attended the reception hosted by Carlos III.

In addition, the ceremony was attended by Kings Abdullah and Rania of Jordan, Princes Alberto and Charlene of Monaco, Guillermo Alejandro and Máxima of the Netherlands, and the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Despite the fact that the United Kingdom is no longer a member of the European Union, the highest representatives of its three powers attended the coronation: the head of the executive branch, Ursula von der Leyen. The President of the Community Council, Charles Michel, and the High Representative of the Legislature, Roberta Metsola.

Meanwhile, Presidents Michael Higgins and Andrzej Duda have arrived from other countries closer to the UK, such as Ireland or Poland.

In this way, between the protests, the economic crisis and the unprecedented presence of the foreign monarchy, the British monarch was crowned, who must take up, among other things, the challenge of preserving the unity of the kingdom, by placating the threatening intentions of independence from Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Arb / Ihl / To