«When it became clear that Queen Elizabeth II was slowly fading away in her sleep, the Princess Royal called her brother who was at Birkhall. Carlo was rushing to his mother’s bedside in a Land Rover when another call came in taken from a member of his staff. The car stopped and there on the side of the road, at 73 years old, Carlo was called “Majesty” for the first time.”
There is great anticipation for the release in Italy, on 4 June, of the new book by the journalist, writer and royal biographer Robert Hardman, Charles III the new king. Confidential History of the New Court of England, published by Rizzoli. The book starts from the story of the last hours of Queen Elizabeth’s life and the beginning of the reign of her son. It is a brilliant tale, full of scoops and revelations, of a tumultuous period in British history, which reveals what lies behind the pageantry, triumphs, challenges and heartaches – up to the recent news about his illness – around to a sovereign destined to leave his mark.
The royal biographer, whose previous works include biographies of Elizabeth II and the BBC documentary Charles III: The Coronation Year, had the king’s permission to access the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle to consult the private files of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. And you interviewed for the book, in addition to members of the royal family, also the prime ministers of King Charles’s reign, Truss and Sunak.
Since King Charles returned to work following his cancer diagnosis, we have seen a different sovereign. Has the illness changed him?
“I think becoming king changed him much more than his illness did. Today Carlo is a satisfied king because he has finally fulfilled his lifelong dream. Before he became king, everything he did had to be approved by the Palace. His every action was subject to strict rules that he could not escape, but today he is the one who dictates the rules. Unlike what Netflix shows in the series The Crown, Prince Charles never tried to persuade the prime minister to convince the queen to step aside. It never happened and it is an untrue interpretation. The then Prince Charles was very respectful of Queen Elizabeth and was happy to bide her time. But when that moment finally came, he was ready. However, I can say that the sovereign has always been much more tactful towards the late Queen Elizabeth. He likes human interaction, he likes being around people and it has always been like this even in the past, when perhaps he wasn’t as satisfied as he is now. His illness was a challenge and returning among the people as a king was of great comfort to him.”
Is it possible to prepare to become king, or do you have to have the crown on your head to truly understand the role?
«His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was not born to be queen. Her father, George VI, was not born to become king and neither was his father, George V. For Charles, however, the crown was written in her destiny from the beginning. Of course, as in any job, there are things you can’t really understand until you take control. I think one of the things that has surprised him the most since he took the throne has been the amount of decisions he has to make every day about just about everything. Many of the people I interviewed pointed this out, including Princess Anne. Because you’re not just king of Britain, you’re king of 14 other countries too. Last year, while I was following the sovereign to make a documentary film, I was able to see the complexity of his work behind the scenes. We were in his study, and his private secretary came in with the red box, which contains all the documentation. His approval was also needed to choose the design of some commemorative coins in New Zealand. He was naturally enthusiastic about it because he likes to know every detail of what happens in his Kingdom, however the work of a king is really a lot.”
How has life at court changed, if at all, under the new king compared to the Elizabethan era?
«More transparent, a little less formal, colder in the literal sense of the term. As I also write in my book, King Charles hates the heat and always wants to keep the windows open, the exact opposite of Queen Camilla who is more sensitive to the cold. However, the most distinctive feature of his reign is that it is less formal than that of his mother. If you went to a palace party with Queen Elizabeth, everyone had to stand in a certain place and wait for the queen to pass by. While King Charles doesn’t care about these details, for him it’s a party and he just wanders around the room. It is a small example, but it makes us understand the substantial difference between the two kingdoms and the two sovereigns.
Each kingdom is different because the temperament of the sovereign who ascends to the throne is different and because the political and social scenarios that take place in the background are different. The difference compared to the Elizabethan era is that today the monarchy is no longer taken for granted and accepted as it once was. The sovereign must in a certain way justify his role, he must give meaning to the existence of the Institution because the people no longer see it as something eternal.”
What is the prevailing feeling in Britain today towards the monarchy?
«Most people today absolutely look favorably on the monarchy, which is not in danger. And I think that, over the years, this feeling will continue to exist towards a secular institution that guarantees the country an image of stability. Sure, opponents of the monarchy say it is undemocratic, but you can’t really say that Britain is any less democratic than any other Western nation. I’ll give you a simple example: the most modern nations of Europe, such as Norway, Holland and Sweden, also have monarchs. Therefore a monarchy cannot be called undemocratic. As long as the institution is good and useful to the country, people will appreciate it. The problem could arise only if people felt that privileged people who wasted money had ascended the throne, but it is not a problem today.”
In your book, you write that King Charles’ royal ties hide a message. Which?
«It depends on the tie. The one for example with the T-Rexes drawn echoes its Latin numerals (C Rex). Then the king often also wears the one with the owls (symbol of wisdom) when he is with the academics and the one with the horses drawn when he goes to the races, as recently happened at the Epsom racecourse. The T-Rex tie appears to have been a gift, probably from Queen Camilla, although some have said it came from one of her grandchildren. We don’t know who the gift came from but it is certain that King Charles liked it very much.”
