Opinions
Charles is a man of opinions — on the environment, on architecture and on government support for his many charities and causes — opinions he presses insistently on governments, as shown by his letters, released under the Freedom of Information Act. If, as king, he continues in this, both he and his institution will suffer for it.
Prince William, 34 last June, has, by contrast, no known opinions on public issues. He has a wife, Catherine, from a non-royal background; they have two young children, a boy, George and a girl, Charlotte. The whole family is photogenic and seem charming, though William is balding early. He trained in the Royal Air Force as a helicopter pilot, and works full time as a pilot for the air ambulance service after his short spell in the RAF. That mix of military service and aiding the sick is a potent one. From a public relations point of view — one of the most influential in monarchical conclaves — he is a gift, in spite of the blunders said to have come from ignoring his PR team’s advice. His father, though, poses the real challenge.
If Charles succeeds — it’s still more likely than not — then the monarchy ceases to be an unquestionable asset, and becomes a zone of nervous image management. If William succeeds, Charles’ disappointment may burst out in public explosions. Even if not, the burden on William of carrying on a tradition so long occupied by his grandmother would be heavy upon one whose political antennae are untested, in a country whose domestic and international frameworks are shifting and fragile.
So popular has the queen been that even the solidly republican Scottish National Party, which provides Scotland’s regional government and nearly all of its representation at Westminster, cannily shifted towards a royalist position. But neither the son nor the grandson would command the same grip on Scots’ sentiment. That, coupled with Scotland’s vote to remain in the European Union, could convince waverers that the independence the SNP exists to attain was worth the economic risk.