Queen Elizabeth died on Thursday at the age of 96. She was Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, the nation’s figurehead, and a towering presence on the world stage for seven decades.
A new line of succession has begun after the Queen died. Charles is becoming King, and it will create a new hierarchy, with Prince William now in line for the throne.
The Queen was the ultimate celebrity in America. From her first days reigning as Queen, Elizabeth was seen as a character out of a fairytale in the United States. Few countries are as obsessed with celebrities as the United States, and royals are the ultimate celebrity. They are both exotically unattainable and also intriguingly silent.
Now King Charles III is stepping into the palace as Britain and 14 Commonwealth realms adjust to the new head of state.
Charles has a strong past in activist work. As Prince of Wales, Charles did not equivocate on climate, saying earlier this year that ‘the world is on the brink,’ and, ‘we need the mobilizing urgency of a war-like footing if we are to win.’
As King, Charles will now have to tread a paper-thin boundary between political advocacy and the throne. Not only will it end up influencing his popularity in the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth nations, but it will influence his popularity in the United States.
Queen Elizabeth II’s specialty of marshmallow diplomacy, very sweet and also typically apolitical, charmed Americans over decades.
It means that if Charles does continue in an activist role, he may not have the same favorability in America.
Whether Charles is beloved in America is unlikely to dent the ‘special relationship’ shared between the U.S. and U.K. But a loss of interest in the royals, in general, would mean the loss of a British tool that has wielded a quiet power in the states for most of the last century.
The Queen was considered in America broadly to be the perfect envoy to the states. She met with 13 of the past 14 presidents, hosting most of them at Buckingham Palace. Experts say she truly understood the personalities and idiosyncrasies of each government.
But even beyond courting the presidents, all raving about her, she bewitched the American public. This is despite the fact that America was founded after a war to free itself from British rule. She always ranked high in approval scores in polls.
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