“Is this celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee the occasion to celebrate a queen who has been there for 70 years or to say goodbye to a queen who will soon be leaving? asks Francis Balace, historian, specialist in monarchies.
The question perfectly sums up the state of mind that permeated these four days of celebration. For health reasons, the queen had to stay behind (even if she managed to shine in a humorous video with Paddington Bear).
It is not the first time. Prince Charles represents her more and more often. “In the most British way – undeclared, unwritten and unspoken – the transition has begun “ writes the BBC’s “royal correspondent”.
In the most British way – undeclared, unwritten and unspoken – the transition has begun.
On May 11, Ed Owens, a historian, summed up in the Guardian: “Expect to see more of Prince Charles. This is a slow-motion abdication”a “abdication in slow motion”. It was the day after the famous Speech from the Throne, a speech written by the government but usually read by the Queen in the House of Lords. This year, the queen was prevented, for health reasons. Prince Charles replaced her.
Historical
Commentators unanimously called this moment “of history“. The Queen had only missed him twice during her long reign, when she was pregnant with Andrew and then Edward. For the Sunthis highly symbolic moment is, for Prince Charles, the role “closest to that of a king” that he had to bear. “The Prince of Wales finds himself regent, except in name”wrote Ed Owens in the Guardian.
The Prince of Wales finds himself regent, except in name.
Francis Balace, another historian, would not use this term, because the queen remains in control: “The Queen delegates her public appearances but we continue to send Windsor Castle the famous red leather boxes in which are the reports of ministers, diplomatic correspondence, etc. She is still the one who receives the Prime Minister in audience every week.”
Very symbolically, during the speech from the throne, Charles was precisely not seated on the throne. He was sitting in the seat reserved for the consort, which was smaller. The crown was placed next to him, where the queen usually sits, “making it clear where the power lies“, analyzes the Daily Mail.