God Save (us from) The King

The monarchy of England, or of any country really, always makes for an intriguing read. Throughout history, “king” has been synonymous with “dictator”; it is just that kings ascend to their thrown not by rebellion, but by organized government. Luckily, this is not the case in modern England, to be King or Queen is to be a ceremonial tourist attraction. Of course, I don’t mean to insult our British friends in any way, I am not saying that being King or Queen makes one a museum exhibit. I am simply saying that being a royal doesn’t really give you much power.

Certainly, however, being a monarch in England earns you the respect of your people.

Somehow, Queen Elizabeth managed to earn not only the respect of her people but also their love. And not only the love of the Brits, but the love of the whole world as well. As a side note, it is widely believed that Queen Elizabeth was a Christian, which I personally also believe. It was with great sadness that I learned of her death recently. The thing about Queen Elizabeth is that somehow, some way, she was the one member of the family who remained mainly pure from the scandals and stories spun about the royal family.

I doubt her successor is going to live up to that standard. Charles, her son, is going to succeed her to the English throne, maybe for twenty years at a maximum, as he is in his seventies already. The respect I myself and many others had for the Queen is nowhere to be found for the King.

Charles, can, like any good politician (err, monarch) put on a good appearance. He can wear a suit and look respectable enough; he can clean up nicely and talk well and be as elegant as he pleases. But he’s had seventy-three years to himself as a spoiled royal brat.

First off, Charles cheated on his wife. From Marca, “Diana was the wife of Charles of Wales. As a husband and a father, Charles behaved in the most abhorrent ways. He cheated on Diana of Wales with his present spouse, Queen Consort Camilla Parker-Bowles, from the start.” Charles would tell Camilla that “I want to be yours.”

Marca also reports that “Charles allegedly accepted unofficial commissions from the family of Osama bin Laden and a previous Qatari prime minister for his charitable endeavors. He is a fervent supporter of homeopathy, earning him the label of being 'anti-scientific.'

Not just that, Charles has drawn a lot of criticism for his extravagant spending. The current King of England has six homes on his estate, 11 secretaries, a large staff of servants, a fleet of expensive cars, and an annual salary of 17 million pounds.”

Everyone, from all political viewpoints and backgrounds, should be able to agree that this is no way for a king to act. The King of England is no celebrity, neigh, neither is the Duke of Wales. Even if the modern monarchy is generally viewed as laughing stock for British tabloids, the British monarchy is still the British monarchy, and anyone in it is viewed as a leader and is in the international spotlight (again, thanks to the tabloids). Charles has a tarnished reputation; the king or future king is not a playboy who cheats on his wife and spends all his money: that is the opposite of the wisdom which a ruler must have to rule, even if his rule is only ceremonial. Charles isn’t respectable or proper, the only thing that makes him fit to be a king is his heritage.

I know what you’re saying: Trump was a jerk too. That’s true, he was and is a jerk. And I think he did a fine job as president. I’m not contradicting myself, however, because Donald Trump doesn’t come from the topmost family in the United States. He isn’t a royal, even if he thinks he is one, and thus he needs not be held to such a high standard. The fact that he made it to the presidency reflects more on the character of America than it does on his own demeanor.

And now I gotta talk about how plain stupid Charles is. He mandated that the world leaders attending Queen Elizabeth’s funeral must take a bus to Westminster Abbey. Yes, a bus. I’m sure if Charles can afford six homes, he will at least make the bus a nice bus, but it’s still a bus. From Politico: “Foreign heads of state and their spouses heading to London for the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II have been asked to arrive in the U.K. on commercial flights and banned from using helicopters to get around.

World leaders have also been told they cannot use their own state cars to attend the funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 19 — and will instead be bussed in en masse from a site in west London.”

His reason, of course, is climate change. I’m sure potential terrorists who would love to wipe out a bunch of world leaders in one go must love climate change if it means the most powerful people in the world will all be on one bus. Charles doesn’t seem to care. At all.

So far, I have very little faith in King Charles. I must say I am glad England is not entirely ruled by a monarchy at this point in time, because if it were, we’d all be in trouble.