Are we ready for a King Charles-led monarchy? Or
The Queen is dead, long live the King. But can King Charles expect his new subjects to remain loyal? We hit the streets to find out. By Jonathan Killick, Stephen Ward and Erin Gourley.
His Majesty’s royal subjects on Auckland’s Queen Street had mixed opinions about their new monarch.
Matthew Williams said
Charles had big footsteps to follow in. ‘‘I think he will do a good job but I think a lot of people won’t like his wife, there’s a bit of ill feeling there.’’
Roz Pringle said he deserved a chance to prove himself a worthy king.
‘‘I think he might come into his own as king, now that he’s finally got a turn’’.
Lillian Balfour said she didn’t think young New Zealanders knew much about the new King and she felt the country should not be as connected to the British monarchy.
‘‘We’ve had the Queen on our dollar for such a long time, but there was not an awareness of who’s coming next.
‘‘As much as it is a devastating loss to lose the Queen, I think that New Zealand should focus on looking after its own people.’’
Te Miringa Panapa said that King Charles was ‘‘a bit of a wet blanket’’ and she didn’t feel the change in head of state would impact everyday New Zealanders’ lives.
‘‘We’re probably fine without a monarchy, but Queen Elizabeth did have an impressive reign.’’
Young Katelynn Day said she was blown away to find out that Prince Harry’s real name was Henry.
Peter Taothampitak said he was from Thailand, where there is also a royal family, and he felt that they had no bearing on ordinary people’s lives.
‘‘We just let them be, and hope they don’t use all our money.’’
Taothampitak said that because King Charles was already well advanced in his years that his reign might not be as long lived as it ought to be.
‘‘I think he probably should have given the position to Prince William.’’
In Hamilton, former All Black lock Mark Cooksley, 51, remembered towering above the Queen when he met her at Buckingham Palace during the 1990s while on tour with the national side: ‘‘She was an amazing woman. She held the Commonwealth together for 70 years.’’
Cooksley said King Charles had been long groomed for the monarchy by his mother and didn’t support Aotearoa becoming a republic. The monarchy offered stability as an institution, in contrast to the United States, where there was more ‘‘strife’’ under a presidential system, he said.
‘‘I just see [King Charles’ work] as a continuance of the Queen’s legacy. Charles will create his own legacy in his own time. I like being part of the Commonwealth and having a monarch as head of state.’’
Newstead’s Tamara Huaki, 39, wasn’t such a fan of the monarchy but didn’t favour Aotearoa becoming a republic right now.
She described the Queen as the figurehead of an institution ‘‘that took away a lot from my people’’ but ‘‘she also brought a lot of comfort to people in the Commonwealth, like when
terrible events happened. She was a good woman but she stood for a thing that was not good for indigenous people that were colonised’’.
Huaki was sceptical King Charles III would make much difference.
‘‘I don’t feel like much will change with Charles as King,’’ she said, hoping though that he would continue his activism in combatting climate change.
She thought Aotearoa should ‘‘eventually’’ become a republic. However, the monarchy and Britain needed to finish making reparations to Mā ori and other colonised indigenous peoples ‘‘before they’re off the hook’’ and the relevant countries become republics, Huaki said.
On the streets of Wellington’s CBD, hatmaker Victoria Gridley remembered Queen Elizabeth II for her headwear, and thought the Queen’s legacy was the ‘‘incredible’’ longevity of her service and life, which she equated to 17 presidents of the United States.
‘‘All of that combined was just a beautiful thing that you don’t often get the opportunity to see.’’
She wasn’t keen on Charles taking over as king and she thought countries might leave the Commonwealth because of him.
He couldn’t fill the shoes of the Queen and Prince William would be a better fit, she said.
‘‘I wish she ended the monarchy as her final boss move. I think we should just skip him to be honest.’’
Gridley was looking forward to seeing what Queen Consort Camilla would do. ‘‘I think she’s been through a lot and she’ll be able to do a lot of good things.’’
She supported moving to a republic, saying she wanted to see New Zealand continue down its own unique path and to design a flag that represented the country.
‘‘I feel like outside of this, we’re already pushing very far into being a republic because we are getting more involved in our history and in our culture and our heritage. And I love that.’’
Willem van Epenhuijsen, who is Dutch, said the Queen didn’t mean ‘‘a great deal’’ to him.
However, he said the British royal family gave the Dutch royal family much needed support during WWII.
‘‘There’s a huge background there for us, and we respect her for having done her job for such a long time. In times of need she has helped others and people remember that.’’
Van Epenhuijsen was against becoming a republic, which he saw as a waste of money. The Commonwealth provided us with allies when times get tough, he said.
‘‘It’s better the devil you know. I don’t think it’s a bright idea to become a republic at this time given the far-right movements that are happening to feel empowered.’’