Opinion The coronation of Charles III: ‘Queen Charlotte’ offers the fantasy that the Windsors no longer can
The fictionalised account of a former queen seems more in touch with contemporary sentiments than a coronation that reportedly cost about 20.5 million pounds at a time when ordinary Britons are lining up at food banks and foregoing heating in a bid to save money
Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla wave to the crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the coronation ceremony in London, Saturday, May 6, 2023. (AP Photo) 
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If there was a certain flatness about the moment when the Archbishop of Canterbury placed the ermine-trimmed Imperial State Crown on Charles III’s head and Westminster Abbey resounded with cries of “God save the King,” it wasn’t through any fault of the 74-year-old king. In fact, one might say that it is typical of the time we live in that even though the new monarch might have expected to be the cynosure of all eyes, those following the ceremony were less enamoured of the rituals — and the man at the centre of them — than they were of the matching jewelled headpieces worn by the Princess of Wales and her daughter, or the scarlet page tunic in which young Prince George, third in line for the throne, was dressed.
King Charles III receives The St Edward’s Crown during the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London on Saturday. (Photo: AP)
The coronation of Charles III, in effect, was less a celebration of the moment a man fulfilled his destiny after having waited 70 years to do so, than it was an opportunity for the world to, once again, see and talk about the glamour of royal events. The bald truth is that shorn of these moments — Katy Perry’s hat! Emma Thompson’s red overcoat! Jill and Finnegan Biden’s fashion tribute to Ukraine! — the crowning of a king seems an outdated relic in the 21st century, a throwback to a time of imperial writ and divine rights, and really only interesting when it is fictionalised for our consumption because then, at least, you can fast forward to the juicy parts.
In fact, a recent fictionalised depiction of British royalty seems more in touch with contemporary sentiments than a coronation that reportedly cost about 20.5 million pounds at a time when ordinary Britons are lining up at food banks and foregoing heating in a bid to save money (last month, an 87-year-old pensioner died of hypothermia “for fear of high energy bills”). Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story debuted on Netflix on May 4, right in time for the real-world coronation of Charles III. The series, which spins off from the hit series Bridgerton, is a fictionalised recounting of the romance between Charles III’s great-great-great-great-great-grandparents, Charlotte Mecklenburg-Strelitz and George III. As in the original series, Queen Charlotte depicts a world of racial diversity, taking the rumours that circulated about the origins of the real Charlotte and asking “What if they were true?” and taking the answer to its logical conclusion. Consider the racial tension that is said to have built up in Buckingham Palace when Charles III’s younger son, Harry, married Meghan Markle and her pregnancy reportedly prompted a senior royal to speculate on the unborn child’s skin colour. Such speculation, viewers will say, would have found no place in the world of Bridgerton.
Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla make their way along the Mall following their Coronation. (AP Photo)
One might even say that at this point in history, the only real interest the royals generate is when they feed our imaginations and our instinct for weaving romance. This was on full display at the weddings of both William and Harry, with breathless commentary about commoners-turned-princesses and “fairytale” endings. The scandals that have since engulfed the Windsors — apart from allegations of racism and the rift between the two brothers, were the revelations about Prince Andrew’s connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — have taken the shine off the crown. Kings and queens, pomp and ceremony still fascinate us, but they do so only when they come with the trappings of fantasy. What fantasy are King Charles III and the Queen Consort, Camilla, serving us now except an outdated one of empire?
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