Heavy head that wears the crown...
IT’S sometimes called the Journalist’s Curse: the ability – the professional duty, perhaps – to see both sides of the argument.
That damn curse is currently giving me headaches. Because I hold totally conflicting positions on an issue that, whether we like it or not, is steaming steadily down the tracks towards all of us: namely, who should become king when the Queen dies? Charles or William?
Obviously, constitutionally, it ought to be Charles. But politically maybe it should be Wills. Do join me in my schizophrenic dilemma… his mother enjoys, should be Britain’s next king. He has the right to wear the crown – constitutionally and morally. End of discussion. It’s not really about how old Charles will be when his mother dies: it’s about how old William will be when his father dies.
Four people are currently re-invigorating the British monarchy: William and Catherine; Harry and Megan. Between them they are normalising an institution that was looking dangerously arcane. Diana’s sons have chosen wives who come from wider society, not the shrinking shoals of blue-blooded upper-class aristocrats.
Catherine is middle class. Yes, she’s a bit posh but she’s pretty normal. Megan is a hip, mixed-race American girl totally in tune with the 21st century. Both she and her future sister-in-law are switched-on women who can legitimately speak for their generation. As do their husbands.
William and Harry’s recent breakthrough statements on mental health awareness were game-changers.
Let’s say the Queen lives for another 10 years or so. By then Charles will be nudging his 80s and William approaching his 50s. What if Charles, as king, lives for as long – or longer – than his mother? William will be a pensioner when he is crowned.
Let’s be blunt. Charles hasn’t changed or updated the perception of the Windsors and their role: William and Harry have. We should capitalise on their youth and hand their generation the reins.
If Charles were to agree to stand aside it wouldn’t be some kind of irreversible precedent: it would be a one-off, selfless and sensible correction to the current generational distortion within the Royal Family. It would be the act of a true king. AFTER years of living in denial I have finally bought myself an iPad, or tablet. It’s changed my life. Anything I want to know it tells me, whether it’s a review of a Lake District hotel or exactly where Julius Caesar landed in 55BC. It’s like having the British Library in my handbag. I’m besotted.