King Charles III It is Queen Consort Camilla were on a state visit to Kenya from October 31st to November 3rd. According to one historian, the British monarch did many things differently than his late mother, Queen Elizabeth IIwould have done.
Charles breaks with the Queen’s example
The historian Marlene Koenig notes, speaking to Express.co.uk, that Charles appears to be “much less formal” than the late Elizabeth. And this shows that he is separating himself from her as a model.
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“If you look at the kind of appearances the King and Queen [in Kenia] “You will see more informal performances”, emphasizes the historian.
“Charles ordered Indian food from the local food truck,” she gives as an example. “He met students who benefit from the Prince’s International Trust.”
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Meanwhile, Camilla was casually shopping at a Kenyan market. She officially did her Christmas shopping – without having any money with her, so her employees had to consult the sellers’ data to be able to pay later.
In short: Charles and Camilla behaved much more openly and closely with the people in Kenya than Elizabeth II did during her lifetime. “I don’t think the late Queen would have stopped at that food truck. Prince Philip could have done it,” Koenig said.
Overall, this doesn’t mean that Charles is doing a bad job as the Queen’s successor. On the contrary. Koenig believes the monarch is doing his job perfectly. He said he knows how to handle a crowd because he has been preparing for this role for decades.
“Charles must avoid controversy”
However, Koenig emphasizes that Charles, even though he is more modern than his mother, still needs to adhere to certain rules in his role as monarch. For the 74-year-old, the state visit to Kenya is partly an encounter with the ghosts of the past, as Kenya is a country that was once under British colonial rule.
In view of colonial rule, Charles spoke on Tuesday at a meeting organized by the Kenyan president Guilherme Ruto given state banquet of “despicable and unjustified acts of violence”. There can be “no excuse” for these actions during Kenyans’ fight for independence, the monarch said.
The historian explains that Charles did not officially apologize because, as monarch, he could only say or do a certain number of things.
“His speech at the state banquet was certainly scrutinized by the government and Charles was warned about what he could and could not say.”
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“He must avoid controversy – and it would be the government’s job to apologize,” said the historian. “When he was Prince of Wales he spoke out about the injustices of British colonialism, but now he must be careful about the words he uses.”
Meanwhile, King Queen Consort Camilla praised Camilla, who, unlike the late Queen, also attends engagements that “might make some people cringe.”
“Queen Camilla takes on an appearance that serves her own interests,” Koenig said. “She has long advocated for victims of sexual abuse – and continues to do so in Kenya, meeting with victims.”