CROWN OF THORNS

While the British royals no longer enjoy the popularity they once did, their future will depend on how King Charles tailors his ceremonial role, introduces transparency and brings the larger family in line

- NAVTEJ SARNA

On May 6, as King Charles III and Queen Camilla are crowned in all their finery at Westminster Abbey, over a thousand people, dressed in more modest yellow T-shirts will be gathered down the road at Trafalgar Square, clutching in one hand their water bottle, potato crisps and sandwich and in the other a yellow placard screaming, “Not my King”. Similar protests will take place in Cardiff and Nottingham, as well as in the Scottish cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Ultimately this feeble whiff of republicanism may not dampen the coronation party. A troubled world will inevitably pay attention to this glittering extravaganza, if nothing else than as an anachronistic bejewelled distraction, steeped in pageantry and richly doused with a mysterious ritual that goes back to the ancient Kings of Israel. But this coronation is unlikely to have the idealism, the romance or even the patriotic sentiment that attached itself to the black-and-white 1953 event, when a young and vulnerable-looking Elizabeth took charge of a war-battered kingdom. Instead, more mundane questions have been swirling around the event: Will the Sussexes be invited? By last reports only Harry will come, though it is not quite clear where he will sit. Will Camilla wear the Kohinoor? Thankfully not. Will she be crowned Queen or Queen Consort? Well, if a King cannot make his wife Queen…. Will the song I’m Gonna Be (500 miles) be part of the coronation music playlist? It will not, given the republican tendencies of the band, The Proclaimers. Clearly the confetti will still come down by the bagful—since an estimated 100 million pounds is being spent on it—but once it has settled, the reflection on the monarchy’s future, in full swing since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II last September, will continue unabated.