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| Charles, Prince of Wales during a visit in Jersey in 2012. |
No other heir to the throne has waited as long as he has done. No other heir in history has lived under the near-constant glare of the media spotlight, nor mocked for his idiosyncrasies. No other heir has arguably ever come under such close scrutiny for both his private and public actions, nor created as much controversy as the result of such actions.
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| Prince Charles with his father and mother, the Queen and Prince Philip, and his sister Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace in the 1950's. |
His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland turned 65 years old yesterday, the age for retirement for many people (as well as when a pension can be drawn, which will be donated by the Prince to charity). However, he has not even begun to take the reins of the job for which he was born.
Being the heir to the throne is an unenviable
position, for it carries no official responsibilities. Indeed, Britain’s
unwritten
constitution is silent on what the heir actually does. In addition,
the hereditary and customary titles held by Charles are mostly ceremonial and
carry no official constitutional standing. Much like the Vice President of the
United States, the heir to the thrones of the Commonwealth realms has three primary
duties: to support the head of state, act in that person’s stead when
necessary, and to succeed such person in the event that he or she dies. In the
case of the Vice President, at least he or she is in office for a limited
period of time (and gets to preside over the US Senate). But the role of heir lasts
for as long as the reigning monarch is living, and without a defined
constitutional role, Charles – like other heirs before him – has had to carve
out a role for himself.
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| Prince Charles at Andrews Air Force Base in the USA, 1981. |
The Prince of Wales has done so by going beyond the
traditional royal boundaries of merely recognizing voluntary and charitable
efforts. Indeed, he has pushed such boundaries by engaging in charity work and
being a vocal campaigner on issues that
are important to him, such as the
environment, sustainability,
energy efficiency, urban regeneration, architecture, alternative
medicine, the armed forces, and giving disadvantaged and troubled youth a fresh start. Where
there is a gap in the voluntary sector, he feels they need to fill that void.
In addition to being the patron of over 400 charities, there is a core network
of 25 trusts and foundations - described by journalist Robert Hardman as
“Britain's most extensive multi-cause charitable network” – which the Prince
himself runs and for which he raised around £141 million ($224 million) from
April 2012 to March 2013 – with his staff describing him as a “charitable
entrepreneur.” Among the most important these bodies is the Prince’s Trust,
which has given 650,000 young men and women financial and practical assistance
to start a business or get into a desired career. Its beneficiaries have
included Idris Elba from The Wire and
James Somerville, co-founder of the design company Attik. Prince Charles has
also carved out a role in which he uses what he calls “convening power” – the
ability bring people together at a table to discuss issues, resolve
differences, and take action.
Among the issues where the Prince has used his “convening power” has been in the area of interfaith dialogue. As the future Supreme Governor of the Church of England, he is a confirmed and practicing Anglican, but like his mother, he also worships in the Presbyterian Church of Scotland when he is north of the (Anglo-Scottish) border. However, he has long realized that Britain – though still mostly Protestant – has become a multi-faith country, and that he cannot afford to ignore millions of his future subjects
who practice a faith different from that of Protestant Christianity.
He has attended Catholic masses, and the Archbishop of Westminster – Vincent
Nichols – has remarked that Charles appears “thoroughly at home” while visiting
Westminster Cathedral. Earlier this year, he was the keynote speaker at the
World Islamic Economic Forum, and opened his address with the Arabic phrase, As-salamu alaykum which means “peace be
with you.” He is also patron of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, whose director,
Farhan Nizami has described the Prince as “a friend of Muslims.” Within the
Jewish community, he has forged close ties with Jonathan Sacks, who recently
stepped down as Chief Rabbi, and just yesterday, he attended a service at an Indian synagogue. Having studied both religions, he believes that
they have much in common with Christianity by having universal truths, and
desires to build bridges to span the chasms between them.
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| Among other things, the Prince's Trust sponsors the "Team Program" - a 12 week program which helps 16-25 year old's to build skills and confidence. Here, these young people completed a course in partnership with the West Midlands Police. |
Among the issues where the Prince has used his “convening power” has been in the area of interfaith dialogue. As the future Supreme Governor of the Church of England, he is a confirmed and practicing Anglican, but like his mother, he also worships in the Presbyterian Church of Scotland when he is north of the (Anglo-Scottish) border. However, he has long realized that Britain – though still mostly Protestant – has become a multi-faith country, and that he cannot afford to ignore millions of his future subjects
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| Charles and Camilla visiting a synagogue. |
This may explain why the Prince stated in 1994 that he would rather see himself as “Defender of Faith”, not “Defender of the Faith” – a title used by English and British monarchs since Pope Leo X granted it to Henry VIII of England in 1521 – when he accedes the throne. It is also expected that his coronation, while still being an Anglican Christian ceremony, will include a role for representatives of other faiths. Indeed, it does appear that the Prince’s belief in the universality of faith in all of its forms endears him to many Britons in an age when faith is seen as old-fashioned and hogwash.
It is the Prince’s faith that probably also guides
him on environmental issues, nature, sustainability, and architecture. He has
been speaking out on the issues regarding climate change before it became
front-and-center on the political agenda, and has
campaigned to save the
British countryside from excessive development brought about by urban sprawl.
To this end, he has been an advocate of the redevelopment of urban areas and of
adapting older buildings to new uses. For example, Charles led a £45 million
consortium which purchased Dumfries House and its surrounding estate in Ayrshire,
Scotland before it was sold off and broken up. After much restoration work, the
not only is the house open for tours of its contents, but the estate has been
reactivated into a working farm producing meat and dairy for a local
supermarket, as well as providing research, educational, and training opportunities –
which in turn has helped to stimulate economic activity in the area.
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| Dumfries House, which was saved in part by the Duke of Rothesay. |
More controversially, he has spoken against
modernist architecture – most famously referring to a proposed extension of the
National Gallery in London as “a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a
much-beloved friend.” He has also personally intervened in projects using modern architecture,
leading to some such projects (such as the redevelopment of the Chelsea
Barracks in London) either being scrapped or significantly changed to
incorporate more traditional forms for architecture.
For the Prince, architecture and development are
part of his greater environmental agenda. He believes in sustainability, making
the interests of humans coexist with those of nature, and taking
action on
climate change. With this in mind, he recently
attacked "corporate lobbyists" and skeptics for turning the Earth
into a “dying patient”, and during a 2011 address to the European Parliament,
he accused such skeptics of playing a “reckless game of roulette” and having a
“corrosive” effect on public opinion with regard to belief (or lack thereof) in
the seriousness of climate change. In a display
of the use of his “convening power”, in 2009 he gathered every head of
government from the G20 Summit (which was being held in London) and was able to
extract $6 billion in rainforest relief. Close to home, he has pursued an
interest in horticulture and created an eco-friendly environment at his
personal estate at Highgrove in Gloucestershire, England. He is also a proponent of
using organic products, and produces a range of food and drink items under the
name “Duchy Originals” (named after the Duchy of Cornwall, which is held in
trust by the Prince in his role as Duke of Cornwall). For his part, Charles has
stated that the birth of Prince George has reinforced his views on the
environment, as well as his conviction that he must do something to help
preserve the planet and the natural world created by God for future
generations.
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| Charles has been a long-time advocate for sustainable development. Here he is with students taking part in a course on sustainable urbanism which he founded. |
Over the years, much has been made about the
Prince’s advocacy, and whether it is constitutionally permissible for the heir
to the throne to speak out on issues which may be controversial, such as his
opposition to genetically modified food and his support for access to
homeopathic remedies at medical facilities owned and operated by the National
Health Service. His meetings with and
ministers and civil servants - some known
as “black spider memos” due to the Prince's handwriting - have led to
accusations of royal “meddling” in matters of public policy from city/town
planning to fox hunting. Some ministers - including former prime minsters Tony
Blair and John Major - and supporters of the Prince insist that he does nothing
more than express his views on issues affecting the country of which he will
one day be king. Ministers can refuse to meet Charles, and if they do have a
meeting with him, they are under no obligation to take his views and opinions
into consideration when they are making public policy decisions. Other people
have expressed concern that Charles, by virtue of his position, can project
undue influence on policies affecting the nation in a way that most people
cannot, and that such influence by an unelected person should not be
permissible (which sounds rather suspect when one considers the politicians who
serve the interests of their special interest paymasters, who for the most part
happen to be unelected). Then there are those who believe that the principle of
having a non-partisan monarch is extended to the monarchy in general, and that
any political interventions would be seen as taking sides and can damage the
long-term future of the monarchy.
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| Prince Charles meeting with the UK's leading politicians: Prime Minister David Cameron (right), Deputy PM Nick Clegg (center), and Opposition Leader Ed Miliband. |
Another issue that has dogged the Prince and has
brought the future of the monarchy into question is that of his private life,
and in particular, his first marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales, and his
second marriage to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
Certainly,
the collapse of his first marriage provided much fodder for the media for the
media to portray Charles as cold and
aloof in contrast to the warm and in-touch
Diana. Worse still were the revelations of infidelity and Diana herself
questioning the Prince’s fitness for kingship, which was the last straw and
brought the marriage to an end. Then came Diana’s tragic death in 1997 and the
royal family’s initial reluctance to give Diana a farewell that many British
people felt she deserved, which was perceived as having a lack of compassion
for the dead princess. This was the probably the darkest hour for the monarchy
since the abdication crisis in 1936 and for Prince Charles in particular, who
now faced open hostility to the idea of him attaining the throne. From here was
a gradual process of earning back the respect of the people.
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| The nadir for Prince Charles and the monarchy was probably in the wake of the death of Diana. |
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| Eight years on, and these two have formed a solid partnership as a happy and contented couple. |
So what is this author’s overall verdict on Prince
Charles? Is he an old crank with reactionary ideas? Or, is he a visionary with
a long-term view who is ahead of his time?
Quite simply, he is man who desires to use his
status to good use. According to Time
magazine, it was a diplomat by the name of Christopher Soames who “pointed out
that few people reject an invitation to meet the heir to the throne, especially
if a fancy dinner and highfalutin guests are added to the mix.” Since then, he
has used his royal status to bring awareness to causes important to him, and to
get people with money and influence to fork over wads of cash to fund his charitable pursuits, which in turn helps to raise more awareness and goes
toward providing assistance to people and causes that are in need of it.
It is this author’s opinion that it is probably a
good thing that the heir to the throne takes an active interest in issues that
affect the United Kingdom and the lives of its people. After all, he will be king one day, and it is
sensible that he would like to have a firm grasp of
what the government does,
as well as how and why it does it, which is something that his mother did not
have upon her accession at the age of 25. If anything, his time as heir is
different from that of Edward VII, who was prevented by his mother Queen
Victoria being allowed to take a part in the affairs of state. Some sources who
have served in government (Tony Blair's former press secretary Alastair
Campbell among them) have alleged that from time to time, the Prince has had to
be told to exercise restraint in his interventions by various people, including
by Blair himself at one point. But so long as Charles avoids actually endorsing
political parties or stumping on the campaign trail for one party or the other,
it does not appear that he is overstepping his boundaries. Writing for the Australian, Kate Mansey and Peter Conradi said
that the Prince now
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| The Prince shaking hands with a crowd. |
“has a member of his staff seconded to the Cabinet Office [the department supporting the Prime Minister and the Cabinet] and one of its civil servants is working for him...which means that the government will learn his views and he can better understand what it is working on.”
Similarly,
his charity work is an outlet for him to do something productive (and often out
of the limelight), rather than twiddling with his thumbs. It may still be a
very long time before he succeeds the Queen (especially given her good health),
so it is better for him reach out and put his money where his mouth is, instead
of being seen as aloof and living off of inheritance with no sense of social
responsibility. He is a sensitive man, but has a burning conviction on making his views known on issues of national importance. If anything, unlike politicians who tend to act in short-term
electoral interest, the Prince takes a long-term view on how policies effect
people, and has expressed frustrations about political figures who try to take
the easy way out of critical issues by applying band-aids (or in some cases,
ignoring problems), as opposed to solving them with sustainable and
long-lasting solutions.
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| Coat of Arms of Charles, Prince of Wales. Ich Dien means "I serve" |
However, once he does become king, Charles will
likely have to curb his advocacy activities. He himself admitted as such, when
he told Robert Hardman of the Daily Mail that he may not be able to
champion his favorite causes “in the same way” when the constraints of kingship
are placed on him. (According to Time magazine, he is already in the process of consolidating his charities into stronger entities that can go on with less of his direct leadership.) It must be remembered that in exchange for the status of
being head of state, British monarchs have given up most political power to
elected officials. This allows the monarchy to have the moral authority of
being the focus of unity and stability for the British nation, and this is
partially the reason why the monarchy has remained popular and relevant to the
present day. The Prince of Wales will have to be careful. As king, he will have
the right to be informed of what the government is doing, as well as the right
to ask questions and demand answers from the prime minister and other members
of the government. However, he ought to be wise in choosing his causes - so as
not to cause division by blatant political partisanship on his part. There are
anti-monarchists in Britain who are hoping that Charles will overreach himself
(like a previous king named Charles) and provide the spark for their movement
to abolish the monarchy.
For now
though, the Prince will carry on was he has been doing for over 60 years.
Indeed, as the Queen continues to age, he will be seen more often in her stead.
Last year, he carried out 657 engagements on behalf of himself and his mother. Earlier this year, he attended the State Opening of Parliament at his mother’s side and
this week, he will represent her at the Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka. All of these
actions are seen as beginning a transition in which the Prince takes on some of
the Queen’s ceremonial duties, such as investitures and meeting foreign
dignitaries, resulting in a co-regency of sorts. They are also seen as preparing Charles for kingship as well as
the public and the wider world for the reality that he will be king.
According to a recent Time magazine, aides to the Prince say that he is in no rush to become king, and if anything, is already feeling the weight of the crown like something akin to a prison
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| More than anybody else, Charles understands that in order to gain the throne, he will have to lose someone very dear to him. |
Even so, with his long apprenticeship, he will
be well-prepared to ascend to the throne because of the work he has done, which
gives him personal insights into the lives of his people, gives him relevance
in modern society. It
is true that he is going to be the oldest person to inherit the throne, but
that fact ought to give reassurance that the monarchy will be in good and
seasoned hands when the time comes. He has weathered through personal and public chaos in his life, questions about his fitness to reign, criticisms of his advocacy, and suggestions that he ought to bow out in favor of William. Now, he appears more at ease with himself and new polling reveals that the majority of Britons want Charles III (or George VII) to be their next king. After waiting for so long, it will be interesting to
see the direction in which he takes the monarchy, so that it can continue to be
relevant going forward.
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| He's sailing through calmer waters these days. |
Let us hope that he has many more happy birthdays, and that he continues to work hard in the service of his country and the Commonwealth.
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