I found it fascinating to watch snippets of the coronation the other night. It wasn’t just the pageantry, sense of history and realisation that this may be the only coronation I manage to see that captured my thoughts. I kept wondering how Prince William and Prince George must have been feeling, what thoughts were going through their heads?
William, of course, is nearly 40, a fully fledged adult and very aware that one day the title of king will be his. Will he have to wait until he is in his seventies as his father has, to inherit the throne? A little bit of maths and probability tells us that this is highly unlikely. His father would have to be the ripe old age of 104, probably not a realistic age to attain, or at least to still be functioning as a viable head of state.
More realistically, William will be in his sixties, probably completely bald and a touch paunchy when he becomes king. His family will have grown up and the burden of regal responsibility will no doubt have been handed more and more to him as his father ages. How will he navigate the possible changing role of the monarchy and will he be able to inject a vibrancy and relevance to an anachronistic institution?
As he pledged allegiance to his father last week, and as he touchingly referred to King Charles as Pa at the concert, was there a deep awareness that this scenario would be repeated for him in years to come.
That Prince George would also bow before him and repeat the oath of allegiance? It must have felt like a dress rehearsal for that future event, where all the rigid rituals and mystique were laid out in front of him, a path that he has no choice but to follow. Was there a deep sadness at the realisation that his father has to be dead for this to happen? Inherited titles, of course, rely on death; a brutal offering indeed. There must have been a fair amount of cognitive dissonance bouncing around in William’s head that day.
And what of Prince George? At the tender age of 10, he must have some awareness of his future role. I doubt that he understands the full implications of his accident of birth but the ground rules must be emerging. Behave in public, learn to wear funny robes and above all try to keep out of public scandal and opprobrium. Later, of course, he probably needs to marry a nice girl and continue the hereditary monarchy.
Despite the wealth of the monarchy and the sometimes life of ease, I wouldn’t want to swap places. To have one’s destiny mapped out in such an uncompromising fashion is to have little freedom, little choice or agency over your life.
Long live the King – a prisoner of tradition and duty.
Did you watch any of the coronation? How do you think Prince William will be feeling about his future accession to king? Let us know in the comments section below.
Also read: What does a king actually do?