England’s new king, Carlos III, mourned the death of his “beloved mother”. In a statement, it has defined Elizabeth II as “beloved ruler & rdquor; whose death would “be deeply felt in the country, region, and Commonwealth (54 countries formerly belonging to the Empire).” The kingdom he now inherited.

The immortal Prince Charles, now a 73-year-old monarch, faces personal duels and a complicated path as king. The state tries to overcome big political crisis, adapting to a new government consisting of new ministers, in the midst of a severe economic crisis and with skyrocketing inflation. The United Kingdom is still suffering from the divisions caused by its departure from the European Union, and faces a growing independence movement in Wales or Scotland. The problem of Northern Ireland, which seemed to be sealed, was once again reopened by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson who wanted to renegotiate the conditions prevailing at the border with the Republic of Ireland.

“I think England are having existential crisis for leaving the European Union and for political instability & rdquor ;, Guy Hedgecoe, a British journalist based in Spain, told the newspaper. “He asked himself what the country was like and what he wanted to be, and he found himself confused by the answer.”

The power of the King of England to resolve these conflicts was essentially symbolic. Wise Queen Elizabeth II is “the rock” on which the country is built, as new Prime Minister Liz Truss puts it. Carlos III doesn’t evoke, for now, the same consensus. And the moments are subtle.

Inexperienced government

The change of Head of State only occurred two days after the change of Head of Government. Conservative politician Liz Truss become prime minister on Tuesday, after receiving an official commission from Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Thus ended the political soap opera starring Boris Johnson. Your party in the middle of a pandemic, party gatewas the last thing to cause a motion of internal condemnation within the party.

Wednesday Truss is announced the names that will make up your cabinet. New ministers at number 10 Downing Street who must learn to ride a tough economic crisis. A long recession is expected, up to 18 months, and prices continue to rise. The latest CPI data is 10%. The pound is at historical lows.

Residents are tired after years of pandemics and crises. Dozens of strikes have been carried out and Britain, like other European countries, facing the winter of lack of energy. And all of this has to be led by a leader who is not elected to a vote, but only by some members of the Conservative Party. According to a YouGov poll, more than half believe Truss will make a bad or very bad prime minister; only one in ten British people think it will be good or very good.

Politically, the Great Britain Carlos inherited is more divided than ever, between himself and his institutions. It has been eight years of almost continuous political crisis since David Cameron accepted, in 2014, a referendum on independence in Scotland. Finally won the option to stay, but that does not close the wound of independence. With her exit from the European Union, the rules have changed and Scotland’s chief minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has promised (she did in June) that she will hold another referendum. London, in principle, opposed. The first result was very close: 55% opposed secession, compared with 45% in favor. It was possible that Charles III had to face the possibility of Scotland leaving the Kingdom. It would be a great historical defeat.

This is not the only wound that reopened after Brexit, Britain’s departure from the European Union on January 31, 2020. Then, Brussels and London negotiated, after months of political and legal juggling, a treaty for the border separating Ireland from the North, belonging to Britain. Great Britain, from the Republic of Ireland, to the south, part of the European Union. The conditions that apply to the traffic of people and goods have been agreed, but surprisingly, Boris Johnson announced his intention to amend important parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol in Parliament. The anger in Brussels is capital.

This too uncertain times for the Commonwealth, more than fifty countries belonging to the United Kingdom and which maintain close relations with the United Kingdom. Many of them continued to retain the British monarch as the symbolic head of state. But some have decided to take a way out. The most recent was Jamaica, which announced earlier in the year that it intended to be fully independent and sever the crown of Great Britain, after more than 300 years. It intends to follow the path of Barbados, which in 2021 will become the fourth completely separate Caribbean state. Previously they were Dominica in 1978, Trinidad and Tobago in 1976 and Guyana in 1970.

Charles III would also face problems of symbolic legitimacy as head of the Anglican church. Not in vain, he is a man who claims to be unfaithful and divorced in a Church that doesn’t allow it. Since Henry VIII no other king has been divorced. Until now. Camilla Parker Bowles, Carlos’ second wife after splitting from Diana of Wales, will be crowned queen consort. It was one of the last wishes of the late Elizabeth II. In February 2022, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne, she left everything tied up: “It is my sincere wish that, when the time comes, Camilla will be known as empress while continuing her own loyal service.”

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