When Queen Elizabeth died in September 2022, King Charles inherited the throne in addition to all the problems and issues that come along with a monarchy. While most 74-year-olds have retired and are enjoying the most relaxing years of their lives, the father-of-two and grandfather of five is just starting the biggest job of his life. From family drama to the global commonwealth, here are the top 7 critical problems on the King's agenda, ranked from least to most important.
Daily Express royal correspondent Richard Palmer explained in the Royal Round Up that the number of taxpayer-funded, uninhabited Royal real estate properties is an issue King Charles needs to handle ASAP. "Lots of people are going to say the royals have lots of houses. This is a difficult one for them. They have Kensington Palace, Frogmore Cottage which if Harry and Meghan haven't formally vacated it yet, they are about to. Who is going to live there? When the King goes up to Balmoral Estate, he stays at Birkhall. Will other members of the family use Balmoral? Will that remain empty? Will it be opened up to the public? There are a number of properties on the Royal Estate on the price and taxpayer-funded side that make the Royal Family a bit vulnerable on this issue."
Palmer adds: "When there is a homelessness crisis and a financial crisis in this country, some people might say it is not a great look for the Royal Family to have all of these empty properties."
Palmer also adds another real estate woe that King Charles needs to deal with. "Will the King and Queen ever move into Buckingham Palace? Around 50 percent of all tourists visiting London go to the palace to have their picture taken outside it because it's where the King lives in the public's mind," he says.
"Except he doesn't as he and Camilla are living in Clarence House when they are in London. Many people think they will never move into the palace. That will be a difficult conversation in four or five years' time if they decide not to move in because a lot of money is being spent on the monarch's quarters in the palace and the king has had a say in the design of all of that."
King Charles also needs to figure out how to handle the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, many experts maintain. "They've had the issues of scandal and infighting in abundance within the family over the last few years," Royal commentator Russell Myers recently told Pod Save The King podcast, pointing out that "Meghan and Harry leaving" is a "big issue that Charles does need to tackle head-on."
Even though Prince Andrew was stripped of his Royal patronages during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, King Charles was left with a royal mess in regard to his disgraced brother. Most recently, Andrew is reportedly refusing to move out of his home, even though Charles ordered him to.
Queen Elizabeth was a wildly popular monarch and still is even after her death. In fact, according to the latest YouGov survey, King Charles wanes in popularity compared to his mother and also his son, Prince William, and daughter-in-law, Princess Kate.
As the world continues to modernize, the relevance of the Royal Family often comes into question. King Charles is attempting to maintain the integrity of the institution while also making changes to modernize it. A case in point is his slimmed-down monarchy and more relaxed coronation ceremony. A study conducted by the independent National Centre for Social Research last week showed royalism had "fallen to a record low," with only 29 percent of Brits regarding the institution as "very important."
Meyer said: "Over the last few years, the monarchy has really struggled to make itself relevant in a modern world and that is definitely going to be one of Charles's big, major issues to tackle in the infancy of his reign."
King Charles is only as powerful as his commonwealth, which has been crumbling, especially in the Caribbean countries. In 2021, Barbados transitioned to a republic, which hasn't happened since Mauritius did so in 1992. According to reports, six other Caribbean countries intend to remove King Charles as their Sovereign. "If we see a cascade of Caribbean nations turning their back against the monarchy, then that could be really tricky," Myers said.
"It [Republican sentiment] is alive and well in a lot of places. There was a failed referendum in Australia in 1999 and I imagine the Australians will have another go at that. And indeed, I think the present government has said it — although it is not on the front burner as it were — is something that would naturally come forward when the Queen died," Dr. Bob Morris, a constitutional expert, told Daily Express.
