Queen pips her son in Top Trumps battle

IT’S the perfect card game for Coronation Day – a Top Trumps based on British monarchs.

The new pack, launched last week, celebrates King Charles’s Coronation on May 6.

But our new sovereign doesn’t receive the top rating. Our late Queen Elizabeth is top of the leaderboard, with a score of 70, followed by Charles (68), Princewilliam (58), Prince George (56), and finally, of our living royals, Queen Camilla (54). Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, isn’t in the deck and nor are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

King Charles is described as a “new kind of king who has witnessed the challenges faced by a monarch and their family first-hand”. It says he will be a king “who benefits from much life experience”.

The late Queen receives a glowing tribute, and scores a “5” for Military Might, a nod to her support for the armed services. It says: “She showed diligence and dedication when faced with all kinds of challenges.the nation mourned her like no other.”

A Top Trumps spokeswoman said the late Queen’s popularity won the day. “A team of ‘royal experts’ came to the conclusion Charles deserved a higher rating than other monarchs in the pack, as it’s his big day, but of course he is trumped by his mother, who comes out as thetoptrump following her long reign and how loved she was.”

Princewilliam receives solid praise from Toptrumps, as “he has reinforced the Royal Family’s public relevance”. It notes the difficulties in his father’s marriage to Princess Diana, saying: “His own marriage has enjoyed smoother sailing (than his parents).”

Historic kings and queens make fascinating reading. HENRYVIII finds favour withtoptrumps giving a rating of 56. It says he came to the throne as an “athletic, cultured, handsome 17-year-old prince”, but fails to mention his six marriages in pursuit of a male heir.

Queenvictoria is praised for a reign that “revitalised the Empire”, while King Arthur is apparently still alive “in the realm of Avalon”. One of the worst ratings is consigned to Edwardviii, the abdicator, who landed just 14 points.