If Charles becomes King the whole Monarchy might fall

It’s less than a month until the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee when the country will celebrate 70 years of Her Royal Highness’ reign. Anyone born after 1952 will not remember Britain under any other monarch, but the Queen is having to wind down her duties due to persistent “mobility issues”, with Prince Charles stepping in for the State Opening of Parliament on Tuesday.

Having recently celebrated her 96th birthday, the Queen has worked far past retirement age but part of her reluctance to leave the throne likely has much to do with her successor and the faltering reputation of the royal family.

The monarchy has come under even more scrutiny than usual in the last few years. Harry and Meghan turning their back on the family and the resurfacing of Prince Andrew’s appalling past haven’t done wonders for the institution’s public image. This is a problem for the royals. 

Young people are already a lot more apathetic towards the monarchy than their parents; just as parents of teenage girls don’t understand their daughters’ fascination with the Kardashians, young people typically seem to be baffled by their parents’ fascination with and adoration of the royal family. 

Influencer culture has meant that Millennials and Gen-Z’ers are used to a level of access and relatability from the people making the tabloids — influencers offer a level of relatability that even celebrities are having to live up to by revealing more and more of their life on social media, something the Royal family could never do.

Over time this lack of interest has led to faltering support as the younger generations rethink the role of the royals and begin to imagine a world without them. In 2019, YouGov reported that 46 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds supported the monarchy, but by 2021 this had already dropped to 31 per cent. Comparatively, 70 per cent of 50 to 64-year-olds and 81 per cent of those aged 65 and above still support the monarchy (both down just one per cent from 2019).

A saving grace for the reputation and future of the monarchy is the Queen. Even for the most aggressive abolitionist, it is hard not to respect the Queen’s dedication to her position as Head of State and it would be cruel to argue for the removal of an elderly woman who is seemingly determined to work for as long as she possibly can. There will, however, come a day when the Queen is no longer with us, and trouble may ensue. 

Here’s the problem: the passing or abdication of the Queen will mean Prince Charles becomes King.

According to YouGov rankings, Prince Charles is the 5th most popular living royal, after the Queen, Prince William, The Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Anne. Only 38 per cent of 16-34 year-olds believe he would do a good job and 46 per cent of Brits want Prince Charles to abdicate immediately to allow his son, the Duke of Cambridge, to take the throne.

There are many reasons why Prince Charles is not a popular option for King, but most significantly, he is seen as untrustworthy, disloyal and cruel due to his marriage to Princess Diana. If the Royal family has failed to capture the hearts of young people, Princess Diana continues to be a fashion inspiration and people’s princess, despite dying before most of Gen-Z was born.

Whether it is her influence on the revival of athleisurewear (she is partly credited for the 2019 trend of biker shorts and oversized sweatshirts), her struggles with mental health and an eating disorder or her support of LGBT communities amid the AIDS epidemic, Princess Diana left an indelible mark on history. 

If Prince Charles once played the knight in shining armour in his and Princess Diana’s fairytale, the story ended with him as the villain (second only to Camilla). This is the perception that has stuck with the public, likely in part due to the constant retelling of their marriage and Diana’s tragic death in film and television. No matter what he does, it is too late to win back public favour. 

Upon the Queen’s death, there will be a reckoning for the Monarchy, and if Prince Charles is at the helm, it doesn’t look good. The best thing the Royal family can do is make Charles, who has been waiting to take the throne longer than any previous Prince of Wales, the King that never was.