WHY THE QUEEN'S DEATH HAS FORCED CHARLES BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

King Charles faces an early dilemma in his new role – how to pitch his Coronation.

- Duncan Larcombe

It would never have been an issue had it not been for the overwhelming global response to the Queen’s death. Finally, a public event that united families, colleagues, and friends after the isolation of COVID-19 and the divisions of Brexit (or Scottish independence if you’re north of the border).

A ceremony watched by four billion people, neighbours sharing memories over the garden fence – not to mention 250,000 people who queued through the night to see her Lying-in-State. Even for non-royalists, it served as an extra day off and a welcome distraction from the worsening rows of Westminster and fears of a financial Armageddon. Pomp and ceremony – so it seemed – was the tonic millions of us didn’t even know we were yearning for.

No one was more surprised by the scenes we saw when the Queen died than the King himself. I’m told Charles described the international reaction to his mother’s death as ‘remarkable’ and ‘unexpected’.

So where’s the issue?