A royal tour 'built around social media': King Charles finds moments of informality and controversy Down Under
Monarch diagnosed with cancer early this year expected to return to 'normal' travels in 2025
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King Charles flipped sausages on the barbecue and didn't hesitate to offer up a hug as he and Queen Camilla met Australians during their recent visit.
Selfies were snapped as Charles and Camilla carried out a pared-down, carefully planned and jam-packed visit in Sydney and Canberra that offered a look at the evolving nature of royal tours.
Gone are the days of lengthy trips. There was no formal state banquet in sight during their four days of engagements in Australia.
And in a time where questions abound over how the monarchy finds relevancy in a modern world, there also seemed to be an acknowledgment of how so much information gets shared these days.
"This is a tour that's built around social media and built around individual smartphones, so there were opportunities … for the King and Queen to be seen out and about and for individuals to take photos," said Cindy McCreery, an associate professor of history at the University of Sydney, in an interview over Zoom this past week.
"There were fewer formal receptions with dignitaries and VIPs. The emphasis was very much on this idea of a people's monarchy and of the King and Queen listening, going out and meeting with local people."
The trip was Charles's first visit as monarch to a Commonwealth realm. It was also his first major overseas trip since he was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer early this year.
Given that, there were questions about how the trip, which included time in Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, would unfold.
"King Charles III is used to being busy and he's used to undertaking extensive tours. So it was clear that he was glad to be touring again," said Carolyn Harris, a Toronto-based royal author and historian, in an interview.
"He described the tour at one point as a kind of tonic and that he hopes to return to Samoa if he lives long enough.
"And so certainly there were moments like that where he was recognizing his own mortality, but there was also a tone of the King returning to overseas visits."
Media reports out of London have suggested that Buckingham Palace is expecting Charles to return to a "normal" schedule of royal visits next year.
McCreery said Charles came across as "gracious, friendly and interested" in what he was seeing and the people he was meeting.
"He said the right things. And I think that reflects the great deal of planning that went into this tour and again, reflects lessons learned from the disastrous Caribbean tour of the Prince of Wales and Princess Catherine. I think the palace was much better informed [this time]. And again, I think they left a lot more to local organizers."
There were moments of controversy, particularly when Charles was shouted at by an Indigenous Australian senator during his visit to Australia's Parliament.
"This is not your land. You are not my king," Sen. Lidia Thorpe yelled as she was ushered from the hall.
For Australians, McCreery said, that wasn't such a surprise.
Thorpe "has a history of making public outbursts," McCreery said.
"And to be honest, I think one might acknowledge [it was] really a very savvy use of media. You know, this was a moment when the world's cameras would be taking notice."
The outburst, McCreery said, "really drew stark attention, not so much to the King himself, but to the historical relationship of the monarchy in Australia and particularly of the plight of Indigenous Australians."
Some Australians were embarrassed by the outburst.
"I'm not sure that that's necessarily justified," said McCreery, "but I think that there was that immediate kind of kneejerk response — 'Oh no, this is bad because it makes us look bad.'
"And also it … exposed the fact that there is a great difference of opinion on the monarchy among Australians, including among Indigenous Australians."
As short as the visit was, it was peppered with moments for Australians who wished to come out and see Charles and Camilla, whether it was when they went to church or to a community barbecue, where Charles took a few minutes at the grill.
In that moment, Harris saw a reflection of changing royal times.
"King Charles III at the barbecue for instance … is reminiscent of those scenes from the 1969 Royal Family documentary … with Prince Phillip at the barbecue at Balmoral," Harris said.
"But the 1969 documentary was capturing informal moments behind the scenes of the Royal Family's public duties, whereas King Charles III is not afraid to have lighter, more informal moments during … his public duties. We don't see that clear divide between public and private."
As much as those moments are now shared on social media by those who see them unfold, Harris also sees parallels with earlier times.
She thinks back to coverage of the Montreal Olympics in 1976, when the whole immediate Royal Family was on hand to watch Princess Anne compete in equestrian events.
"There were concerns because the Olympics were taking place in Montreal, that the Queen might face protests," Harris said.
"But once the Royal Family was there …. their enjoyment of the Games as a family was seen as very endearing. So it's interesting to see that these moments of members of the Royal Family being more informal — this is often what captures the popular imagination."
How long it might stay in the popular imagination in Australia right now could be something of a question, however.
"It's quite ephemeral…. For us here, from our perspective, the world has moved on" from the royal visit, said McCreery.
"In Australia, we're looking at the U.S. election. That's the big story in our newspapers and our news media, or local issues," said McCreery.
And that, she suggested, reflects the "larger curious position" Australia is in.
"We are part of the Commonwealth. We are a constitutional realm. We are a constitutional monarchy. But from a day-to-day point of view, when our head of state is not here very often, we act almost as if we were a virtual republic."
Taking inspiration from Diana
When early glimpses of a documentary about Prince William and his efforts to tackle homelessness emerged the other day, much attention focused on the inspiration he says he took from his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
"When I was very small, my mother started talking about homelessness, much like I do now with my children on the school run," William said during the ITV documentary, which has since been released to mixed reviews.
In the documentary, William talks of how he and his brother, Prince Harry, went with Diana to The Passage, a shelter in London.
The fact that William even mentioned Harry, given the rift between them, had some media — perhaps not surprisingly — trying to speculate whether that might mean anything for their relationship.
More telling, however, is how it reflects the way in which Diana's legacy has been fundamental for both of them.
The brothers have taken on interests and philanthropic initiatives that combine both the interests of Diana, and their father, King Charles — notably from him the interest in combating climate change and addressing environmental conservation.
Diana, Harris said, wanted William and Harry "to know the suffering of those who are less fortunate than themselves, wanted them to have those opportunities to meet people from all walks of life and to empathize with them."
Even though their lives have diverged — William was on track to be and is now heir to the throne, while Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have stepped back from official duties — the influence they take from their mother remains strong.
"It's very clear that William and Harry, in very different ways, both see themselves as following in Diana's footsteps," Harris said. "And if there is ever one day to be a reconciliation, which will be a challenge after everything that's happened, one of the things that brings them together is honouring their mother's legacy."
William's interest in homelessness stands out for Harris, notably for the way in which it is one of the small number of issues he is sharply focused on.
"We look at past generations of the Royal Family [and] we see this big portfolio of different charities around the world," Harris said.
"We're seeing that William's concentrating his efforts on a smaller number of causes."
There is, however, Harris said, a continuation of the tradition of members of the Royal Family focusing on the kinds of issues that will take generations to solve.
"The interest of senior members of the Royal Family in environmental conservation is perhaps the most notable example of this," she said.
"We're seeing members of the Royal Family, because they're in the public eye for their entire lives, are well-situated to raise awareness of issues that require multi-year or multi-generational solutions far beyond any individual political career of an elected official."
Nothing like Downton Abbey, Mike Tindall says
In the quest for insight into what royal life is like in private, Mike Tindall often serves up some carefully chosen tidbits.
So it was perhaps not surprising that passages from a new book co-authored by the husband of King Charles's niece Zara Tindall made media waves in recent days.
In The Good, the Bad and the Rugby — Unleashed, Tindall, a former rugby player, notes among other observations that Queen Elizabeth's life wasn't like anything you'd see in an episode of Downton Abbey, the period drama from Julian Fellowes.
"Zara and I would often watch the racing with her on TV, as I'm sure lots of people reading this have done with their gran," Tindall writes, according to media reports.
Tindall, who went public on the podcast he shares with his co-authors about how Zara gave birth to their youngest child on the bathroom floor at home, also said that "marrying into the Royal Family was pretty easy for me."
That's not, however, the experience of others who have spoken of marrying into the family.
"We look at Prince Harry and Meghan, initially when she had her first Christmas with the Royal Family, Prince Harry spoke very warmly that they were the family she'd never had," Harris said. "But after Harry and Meghan's wedding and during the leadup to their wedding, tensions began to develop."
Harris sees parallels between Tindall's comments and those of his brother-in-law, Peter Phillips, and his then-wife, Montreal-born Autumn Phillips, in an interview in 2016 with Peter Mansbridge, the CBC's chief correspondent at the time.
"Peter Mansbridge was curious to know what it was like to marry into the Royal Family as a Canadian," said Harris.
"And Autumn Phillips … spoke very warmly of being welcomed into the Royal Family."
Even when she was asked if there were comments about her Canadian accent, she emphasized that "everyone had been warm and welcoming," Harris said, although there'd been a bit of good-natured teasing from Prince Philip.
"Certainly both of the spouses of Princess Anne's children have spoken of being very warmly welcomed into the Royal Family, even though they came from backgrounds where a few generations ago it would be difficult to imagine them marrying the sovereign's grandchildren," Harris said.
Tindall has co-hosted an episode of the rugby podcast with Princess Anne, Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, as guests.
"William and Catherine are often quite careful of their public image and what they say before the media," said Harris.
"But clearly we can see that there's a warm friendship with Mike Tindall and that they spoke in a very relaxed manner about the power of sport and their own experiences."
Still, there were no controversial or deeply personal revelations, and there is a sense that anything Tindall does reveal is considered.
"He shares these very warm anecdotes, but he's also careful not to repeat private conversations that he's had with members of the Royal Family," said Harris.
"We don't see him, for instance, discussing what might have been said in text messages or conversations or emails that he might have had."
Royally quotable
"I understand from listening to people across the Commonwealth how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate. It is vital, therefore, that we understand our history, to guide us toward making the right choices in future."
— King Charles, in a speech at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting and amid calls for Commonwealth discussions on reparations for Britain's role in transatlantic slavery.
Royal reads
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For years it has been one King Charles's favourite sanctuaries for rejuvenation. And as he made the lengthy journey back from his tour of Australia and Samoa, it seems the King could not resist a quick spa break at his favourite Indian wellness retreat. [The Guardian]
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Psychologists suggest that research carried out after Queen Elizabeth died shows that many people want the monarchy to "maintain its place" in Britain. [BBC]
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Six Russian agencies and individuals accused of being part of a disinformation network face sanctions from the U.K. government. The Doppelganger group had been linked earlier this year to spreading false rumours about Catherine, Princess of Wales. [BBC]
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In royal fashion news, the designers behind Diana, Princess of Wales's wedding dress have settled a court claim over the sale of the drawings for the famous royal gown. [The Independent]
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