For some of the millions of viewers around the world, his crowning glory King Charles III it is undeniably a dazzling phantasmagoria, but an outdated era. In other words, a way out of the gray reality of modern man. If it were only about this, then one could say that the price of the “show” is too high for its citizens. Great Britain.

The inhabitants of these islands, without a doubt, have the sharpest perception of theatricality. Not only as spectators, but also as participants in the spectacle at the same time. In a sense, they never leave the stage.

Therefore, the Crown is not a relic, but “an ancient figment of the English imagination, buried deep like a diamond relic in our cultural subconscious,” wrote Roger Scrotton, the last great British conservative theorist.

The lyrical rendition of the theme certainly has its charm. Especially when there are historical parallels. And indeed, in nearly 1,500 years of established monarchy, there has only been one decade boundary—more or less—when this country ceased to be a kingdom. It was the time of Oliver Cromwell – “Lord Protector”, as he was called. Although it is rather unclear from whom and from what he protected them.

At the top of Britain’s royal family tree is Cerdic of Wessex, a 6th-century West Saxon military leader. The dynasty founded by Cerdic lasted over 500 years. And the most prominent representative of this house was Alfred the Great, who united under his crown the English and most of the princes of Wales.

Charles III is the 60th holder of the crown of these islands. Nothing like it ever existed in the remaining or extinct kingdoms of Europe. In any case, the United Kingdom was in many ways a “European paradox” that should not be imitated or copied.

It is also paradoxical that the Crown is not accompanied by a “national designation”, as in other countries of the European continent. Since there are four nations that make up the United Kingdom: the English, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish.

Therefore, the Crown now worn by Charles III is the ultimate symbol of the unity of four different peoples who were not united by definition or starting point by a common language or tradition. Thus, it is the oldest and strongest institution in this country.

Some insist that “unity” was achieved through the dominance of the English over the other three peoples of these “crowned islands”, as William Shakespeare put it. Perhaps, however, it would be appropriate to consider that the most powerful dynasty of these islands, the Tudors, was not of English origin, but of Welsh origin.

This country experienced bloody periods of great instability, primarily due to intra-dynastic conflicts, which ended when the Liberal Whigs, supported by Dutch troops invading Britain, overthrew the last Stuart king, James II.

It was the so-called “Glorious Revolution” of 1688, which reigned over the Hanoverian dynasty, whose first two kings – George I and George II – did not even speak English. The current monarch of the United Kingdom is the only one to bear the name of the first Stuart king, Charles I, who was crowned in 1649 by Oliver Cromwell.

It is perhaps worth mentioning that when Charles III received Patriarch Bartholomew at Buckingham Palace on October 25, 2022, there was a painting depicting the “Knight” – the name of the mounted nobles who supported Charles I. Another was a painting in the same position during the reign of Elizabeth II.

This, of course, has no practical significance. But these are two more stitches on the canvas of the Crown of this age-old kingdom. Thus, while everything seems static, each monk subtly contributes some elements of his own constitution.

Charles III ascended the throne at the age of 73, only 13 years younger than Edward III, who succeeded his mother, Queen Victoria. Edward had the reputation of being “the first gentleman of Europe”. Eucharis, worldly, lover of the fair sex, but with a serene married life.

And yet Edward III, whom no one ever thought to compare to his mother, the Empress Victoria, succeeded in his own way, with patience and method, in revising Britain’s “Brilliant Isolation” policy.

At the same time, he laid firm foundations for the kingdom’s alliance with Republican France and Tsarist Russia against Emperor Wilhelm I’s Germany. However, he failed to convince the Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph. Even when, to the great surprise of the Hofburg courtiers, the emperor saw him get into Edward’s open car and return an hour later, laughing, with a sunburned face again. There are also misfortunes in life.

Even more surprising when it was announced that instead of the first foreign trip of the new royal couple to some Commonwealth countries, Charles and his wife Camilla would visit France and Germany. His mother, Elizabeth II, probably would not have done this.

But it was different in those years when, after the end of World War II, the US intervention in
The Suez Crisis of 1956 in favor of Egypt dealt the first and most decisive blow to the British Empire. The Commonwealth was one of the Crown’s highest priorities.

Charles came to the throne when Britain had already left the EU. One of the government’s priorities of today has now been to restore working channels of communication with at least two major European powers, France and Germany. This was a new mission that the new king took on, acting, of course, not of his own free will.

But, as often happens in such cases, there are misfortunes. French President Emmanuel Macron, who faced a violent civil uprising in those days, called for Charles’s visit to be postponed. This was the first time since 1938 that George VI postponed his visit to France due to the death of Lady Strathmere, the mother of his wife Elizabeth.

Mr. Macron’s request was accepted by Charles III with understanding and sympathy. But the criticism of the leader of the French Republican Party, Eric Clottey, was harsh. “What a sad picture for our country, which cannot guarantee the safety of the head of state.” But this is about the French. Not Charles or Britain.

In contrast, Germany has reserved a warm and fully ceremonial welcome for the British royal couple. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife greeted Karl and Camille at the Brandenburg Gate, in the presence of a large military contingent and firing from 21 cannons. Something that has never happened since the end of World War II. Not even when Queen Elizabeth II visited Germany for the last time in 2015.

Charles’ interest in climate change was praised by President Steinmeier at a reception he hosted for the royal couple at the clean energy Schloss Bellevue. All with German pedantry and diligence.

Sure enough, just days after his ascension to the throne, when then Prime Minister Liz Truss objected, Charles canceled his attendance at a major environmental summit in Cairo. The crown embodies the majestic appearance and indestructible unity of the country, which she did when she visited Germany.

It concerns the duties of the monarch. Other “sacramental” rules that apply during the coronation ceremony. Because in this country, where a parliamentary system has emerged and established itself, where pragmatism and an empirical approach to life are the norm, Charles will also receive the “anointing” from the Archbishop of Canterbury during the coronation ceremony. A symbolic act denoting the sacred bond between the Divine and the monarch.

None of the other crown princes of Europe has this symbolic connection. Only in the United Kingdom, where everything is adapted to the needs of the times, but nothing is canceled forever.