Overwhelming Prince William poll result
But I think you are overlooking someone…
Hello, Royal Clubbers, it’s Millie here.
Last week we asked you if Prince William is the British royal family’s strongest asset on the international stage, and a staggering 92 per cent of you said yes.
While I quite agree that Prince William’s youth and enthusiasm do him credit, I couldn’t help but wonder if we are overlooking King Charles.
With only two and a half years as monarch under his belt, Charles came to the throne with enormous shoes to fill and much less time to make his mark than his mother had – Queen Elizabeth II reigned for 70 years, after all.
As our Royal Editor Emily Nash astutely noted:
Throughout her seven-decade reign, as well as many esteemed guests, she occasionally had to play host to some rather dubious characters for the sake of international relations and at the request of the government of the day.
They included Uganda’s Idi Amin, Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Syrian tyrant Bashar-Al-Assad and Zimbabwe’s dictator Robert Mugabe.
Romanian despot Nicolae Ceausescu tried her patience so much that she hid behind a bush in Buckingham Palace’s garden to avoid having to speak to him as he and his wife took a walk while she too was out with her Corgis.
King Charles is keenly aware of his role on the global stage and the importance of soft power in inter-country alliances. His recent meetings with both former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy speak to this belief.
With the latest news that King Charles has invited US president Donald Trump for an unprecedented second state visit to the UK, it appears he is taking a step forward in increasing the diplomatic relations between our two countries in an increasingly polarising world.
Emily Nash said: “King Charles has a lifetime of experience on the world stage and is well-known and respected across the globe, so he has a soft diplomatic influence that many politicians can only dream of.”
Besides, while the Prince of Wales has also met with President Trump, his title pales in comparison to his father’s, and carries less weight internationally.
I would argue that there is a gravitas to an audience with the King at Buckingham Palace that Prince William cannot yet replicate, though his dedication to international relations is promising for his future role.
