King Charles III, known for his many scandals, is king after 70 years of waiting.

On September 8, Queen Elizabeth II passed away leaving the United Kingdom in mourning and a 73-year-old King Charles III to take the throne. Charles will be the 40th monarch to be crowned in Westminster Abbey and will officially become king at St. James Palace in London. King Charles is rumored to play the national anthem with the phrasing of “God save the King” instead of “God save the Queen”. This version hasn’t been played since before 1952 when the late Queen Elizabeth II was coronated. 

Mr. Goebelbecker, an English teacher from Wayne Hills, stated, “I don’t have particularly strong feelings about Charles. He’s from a prior generation and carries the baggage of that. I like some of the things he is passionate about, such as the environment. So hopefully, he focuses on that.”

Recently, Charles has stepped away from the charitable activities that have led him to scandal in the past, the major issue being his ‘meddling in national politics’ which goes against the meant to be neutrality of the sovereigns. “As the queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation,” he says. Charles assures the United Kingdom that he will do his best to rule just as his mother did with the time that he has remaining. 

 This response from Dina Abaza, a senior, shows how the population might feel about King Charles’ scandals. “Seems unfair, it’s unjustified as we have seen that he was already a controversial ruler before being king” 

Charles is now the head of the Commonwealth, an association that consists of 56 countries and 2.4 billion people. The King is the head of state for 14 of these countries, including the UK. These countries are Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.

Senior, Leizl Carlo, gives us a quote about who she thinks would be a better monarch. “I think William would be a better fit for King. He’s had the same teaching and training as Charles but he’s younger and not surrounded by scandal like his father.”

A survey of British citizens suggests that Charles has a good amount of support and positive reviews. 73% of people say he’s provided good leadership, with just 5% saying he hasn’t. Looking forward, 63% believe that he will continue to be a good leader, with 15% saying the opposite. These results greatly outweigh the results of a survey from May 2022, where only a third percent of the UK believed he would be a good monarch. 

In modern-day times, some people find it strange that a monarchy still exists. Some people may even believe that the UK should get with the times and get rid of the monarchy altogether. This quote from Alex Tumann, junior, shows how some people may feel. “In any monarch, there will always be both good and bad. Whether there’s more good or bad varies but throughout history, the monarch has been a part of many significant historical events. The Revolutionary War is one of many. Due to how significant of a role the monarch has had throughout history, I believe that they should stay intact. “ Another student, Haneen Mohammed, says, “I find it stupid, as they have all the power over so many people, it just seems counterproductive” 

ITV News