Charles’ Coronation a waste of money: Unnecessary pomp and show for weakened monarchy

Like all other monarchies, it has been proved that the British family is like a parasite to their own country. The Coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla promises to be a display of pomp and pageantry that will celebrate the start of the new monarch’s reign. But when Britain is languishing and the economic condition is in doldrums it is highly insensitive on the part of Charles to have a Coronation.

And with public purse strings continuing to be tightened, it is questionable whether an event of such extravagance and cost is appropriate. The Royal family of Britain is like an unproductive consumer, feeding not only on Britain’s resources, but also the global resources. The Royal family needs to understand that the Coronation of Charles and Camilla comes at a time when the cost of living crisis continues to tighten its grip on people’s finances.

Critics have questioned the price tag of such a lavish event that comes at a troubling financial time for the country. The Operation Golden Orb committee, which is in charge of planning the coronation ceremony, estimates that the event could cost around 100 million pounds (over ₹1021.5 crore), Time magazine reported.

Support of the monarchy has weekend

Opinion polls show that support for the monarchy has weakened over time. Britain is gripped by double-digit inflation that is eroding living standards and making some people question the expense of the coronation. And the royal family is riven with controversy as Charles’ younger son, Prince Harry, lobs criticism from his base in Southern California. More fundamentally, some in Britain’s increasingly diverse society want a re-examination of the monarchy’s links to the trade in enslaved Africans and its role in the former British Empire, which ruled over large parts of Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.

Kehinde Andrews, a professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University, questions whether the people of Britain and the Empire’s successor, the Commonwealth, really want a 74-year-old white man as their representative.

“If that isn’t the biggest celebration of white supremacy, I can’t think of what is, especially when you think about the lengths, the pageantry, the jewels and all this stuff, right?” Andrews said of the coronation. “So if you really were serious about saying, look, we want an anti-racist future, there is absolutely no place for this terrible institution.”

The king has tried to address some of those concerns by promising to open the royal archives to researchers studying the family’s links with slavery. But the coronation will be a broader, more symbolic effort to show the monarchy still has a role to play. The crowning of Charles and Camilla, the queen consort, will feature many of the elements of coronations past — the hymns, the prayers, the anointing with oils — all of which are designed to remind the world of the history, tradition and mystery embodied by the monarchy.

But the festivities have been tailored to better reflect modern Britain, where about 18% of the population describe themselves as belonging to an ethnic minority. That compares with less than 1% when Charles’ mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, was crowned in 1953.

Critics say huge coronation security operation goes too far

The coronation of King Charles III involves one of the most important and complex security operations in U.K. history, Britain’s security minister said Wednesday, as rights groups accused the authorities of stifling civil liberties in their attempt to ensure events run smoothly.

Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said the coronation involves “one of the most important security operations that the country has put into plan,” with scores of foreign royals, dignitaries and heads of state expected to attend Saturday’s Westminster Abbey service.

“This is an enormously important moment for the country,” Tugendhat told Times Radio. “The police are, to put it mildly, all over it, and our intelligence and other security forces are extremely aware of the challenges that we face and ready to deal with them — as the police did quite brilliantly yesterday.” As thousands of police began to be deployed across London, officers arrested a man and blew up a suspicious bag outside Buckingham Palace.

The crown has been resized. The troops are prepared for the biggest military procession in 70 years. The Gold State Coach is ready to roll.

Now it’s time for the show

King Charles III will be crowned Saturday at Westminster Abbey in an event full of all the pageantry Britain can muster. Enrobed clergymen will hand over the medieval symbols of power — the rod, the scepter and the orb. Brass bands and soldiers in bearskin hats will troop through the streets. And the new king and queen will presumably end the day on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to wave to the cheering crowds.

But don’t be too dazzled. There’s purpose behind the pomp: to buttress the crown’s foundations and show that the people of the United Kingdom still support their monarch.

Royal historian Robert Lacey compares the event to a U.S. presidential election and an inauguration rolled into one — a celebration as well as a test of how the public sees the new sovereign.

“The king obviously is not subject to the vote and so these big public rituals are the closest royal people get to that sort of test,” said Lacey, author of “Battle of Brothers: William & Harry — the Inside Story of a Family in Tumult.” “Its basic purpose is to attract the loyalty and interest of British people to demonstrate that crowd outside Buckingham Palace waving at the balcony.” While TV screens around the world will be filled with flag-waving fans, Charles’ coronation comes at a difficult time for the royals.

(With inputs from AP)

(With added inputs from agencies)

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