Today marks a truly historic day – the Coronation of His Majesty the King.
While there has been much debate over the future of the Monarchy, there remains a solid pro-monarchy majority in Britain. Unherd’s recent polling – powered by Focaldata – found that 55% of Brits agreed with the view that it’s a good thing Britain has a monarchy. Just 18% disagreed, with 26% saying they weren’t sure. An even more recent poll conducted by YouGov found that 58% of respondents supported the retention of the monarchy.
It is no secret that younger sections of the population are not so enthusiastic over the existence of the British monarchy. Youthful radical progressives view the royal family as an anachronistic institution which is fundamentally incompatible with liberal democracy. Buckingham Palace is perceived to be a pale and stale symbol of inherited privilege which doesn’t rank highly when it comes to their holy trinity of diversity, equality, and inclusion.
But I couldn’t disagree more with this view. King Charles III is an unapologetically pro-diversity figurehead – one could even go as far as saying he is Britain’s most high-profile multiculturalist. Describing Britain as ‘a community of communities’, King Charles III has previously referred to himself as ‘the defender of all faiths’ – despite his role as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
Our head of state has previously spoken of Muslim contributions to the European renaissance, extolled the virtues of Islamic finance and championed Islam’s emphasis on environmental protection. The latest England & Wales Census showed that 6.5% of people identified as Muslims – and King Charles III’s positive relationship with Islam will be comforting for many of them.
King Charles III is exactly the kind of monarch modern Britain needs – and many on the British Left would do well to recognise that one of their strongest cultural allies is in Buckingham Palace.
Long Live The King!
