King Charles III will face a huge challenge in living up to the adoration of Queen Elizabeth II. Photo / Getty Images
King Charles III will face a huge challenge in living up to the adoration of Queen Elizabeth II. Photo / Getty Images
King Charles III inherits the British crown at a complicated time for the royal family.
There have been growing republican calls throughout the Commonwealth and pressure is growing on the royal family to contend with its colonial history.
Historian Jock Phillips, who previously served as the general editor of Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, tells the Front Page podcast the true challenge for Charles will be in rising above any partisanship.
"One of the things about the Queen was that she was scrupulous about rising above partisan battles and contemporary issues, and she was very discreet about her opinions," Phillips says.
"Charles comes with a lot more baggage. He has expressed quite strong opinions about certain things. And I think that the traditional constitutional role of the monarch as a sort of neutral person rising above partisan politics is going to be quite a challenge for him."
Phillips says the effectiveness of Charles in overcoming this challenge could be integral in determining whether we see a rising tide of republican thinking across more of the Commonwealth.
Asked whether he thought the emergence of Charles could lead to growing calls for New Zealand to become a republic, Phillips said that discussion shouldn't be dictated by who sits on the throne.
"The choice of whether or not New Zealand becomes a republic is about the identity of New Zealand. And it's a debate that probably would have been better held five years ago before the Queen had died.
"If we now have the debate after the Queen has died and Charles has taken over, it will be seen as being a personal rejection of Charles - and that would be very unfortunate. If we are going to become a republic we should do so for reasons of national identity and the nature of the people we've become, not because we don't like Charles III."
Phillips says that performance of Charles in his new role could also have an impact on the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II.
Royalists have often pointed out that Elizabeth's great contribution was to hold the monarchy together over a period of enormous social turmoil and political debate, but there is a chance that Charles III could now unleash much greater criticism of the institution.
"If Charles does manage to hold the fort, so to speak, I think she will be seen as providing a successful model for subsequent royalty," Phillips says.
"Her legacy will really depend on what comes and what happens after [her reign]."
• The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am.
