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Britain needs King Charles the Weird Our Green Man ruler is destined to save us

All hail The Green King (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

All hail The Green King (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)


April 28, 2023   5 mins

As the rain lashed Parliament Square this week, and Rishi Sunak’s bizarre police bicycle escort shouted its way through Whitehall, the capital resembled a drizzly, gothic Burning Man festival. Crowds of Extinction Rebellion protestors stood huddled from the weather in their lurid purples and oranges, like penitent cultists in a late Roman city. Gone were the strange processions of accusing scarlet priestesses that marked their early protests: they had retreated to their aesthetic safe space of a crusty Student Union bar sometime in the early Nineties, a distant fug of snakebite, rollies and road bypass protests that is presumably their foundation-myth, the lost Arcadia of the eco-protest world. And between these two worlds, sliding through the crowds in his chauffeured car, inscrutable behind polished glass, sat the living bridge between these two Englands: the King.

It still feels strange to say the King, impossible to utter it without savouring the phrase as if in quotation marks: no other British title quite embodies the same tension between the lost magic of the realm and the banalities of modern public life. Replacing the careworn grandmother embodying the post-war diminution of the British state, our new king, part Athonite mystic, part pampered dandy, remains a mystery.

Just like the juxtaposition of Extinction Rebellion’s pagan eco-mysticism with the box-ticking, bell-ringing passive-aggressiveness of Sunak’s cycle cavalry, the King represents two divergent paths for Britain’s future. To supporters like myself, inclined to hail him — partly seriously and partly ironically — as a post-liberal figurehead, a champion of small family farms and a lost way of life, the King may still signal a renaissance of sorts. To his detractors, he represents all that is wrong with the 21st-century establishment. Some view him as the herald of top-down bureaucratic eco-austerity for the masses while the elites preserve their wealth and contentment; others see his recent capitulation to the race grifters and betrayal of a loyal family servant as evidence of all that is most destabilising and harmful about modern British life. There are two kings within Charles waiting to be crowned, just as there are two rival Britains struggling to be born.

The Queen’s funeral, with its sombre pomp and reassertion of the power and majesty of the state, could be interpreted as a rejection of modern Britain as much as the great festive events of her later life proclaimed a celebration of who we are now. What rich stores of symbolic meaning, then, await us at the coronation?

The sheer strangeness of this event, its apartness from modern Britain, is the essence of its meaning. When our king is anointed as God’s chosen in the great stone sepulchre of the British people, we will witness something strange and literally magical. So divorced from modernity as to be almost incomprehensible, we will witness, like puzzled anthropologists, the ancient rituals of our own lost British tribe. The choice of music, of court dress and of religious benedictions that will attend this descendant of both Vlad Dracul and Mohammed, in this most Catholic ceremony of a Protestant country, are rich fodder for grandstanding and debate. All politics, all power, is at heart symbolic, resting on ancient foundations like a modern church on ancient monoliths: only once or twice in our lifetimes will the state draw back its robes and reveal her hidden mysteries to us.

How is Charles to rule and bring this strange duality, the ancient and the modern, into public life? For decades, he was mocked as an eccentric, a weirdo who talked to his plants and praised the rustic hardships of traditional peasant life from within his palace walls. This urge to call him weird as an insult, springs from the same source as the eye-rolling ironic epithet “normal country” levelled at Britain. Instead, it is a compliment. Britain is not a normal country, whatever that would be, and thank God.

From the beginning of recorded history, Britain has always been viewed as a place strange and apart from the rest of Europe and the world, an insular realm of eccentric people and half-understood customs. In the awkward adolescence of his reign, between the inheritance of his role and his donning of the crown, Charles has perhaps hidden his own essential weirdness, in an attempt to fit how he felt modern Britain wants him to be. It is only now, as he prepares to assume the role, that Charles has begun to let his weirdness show.

In its true meaning, wyrd is “fate”, the supernatural destiny imposed on all men, just as Charles’s destiny, long-delayed, has finally settled upon him. We must encourage, through Charles, the wyrd’s manifestations in public life.

Consider Charles’s much-analysed choice of the Green Man as his symbol on the Coronation invitations. What does it tell us about our new king? What makes it so fascinating is not that it is a submerged pagan symbol buried beneath Christian decoration — a popular claim modern folklorists reject — but rather the very knowing ambiguity of the Green Man, a Christian symbol of rebirth that gains its power from the winked suggestion of older, deeper roots. It is a symbol so intentionally rich in opposing meanings, so downright weird, that no settled meaning can ever be found: it was created to be puzzled over, argued about, and in doing so to uncover hidden truths. It is time for the Green Man to run riot in SW1, for Charles to enrich British public life with his own fertile ambiguities.

How, for example, would our Green Man king bridge the gap between Palace Green’s eco-protesters, fearful of what they believe to be an apocalyptic near-future, and the opposing political tendency, fearful of what they believe to be a dawning age of eco-austerity? In an age where our dependence on Russian energy and neglect of nuclear power has driven ordinary families into financial difficulty, the argument that Britain’s antiquated housing stock requires better insulation has been widely adopted by urban yimby commentators, evidence of one path through a divided political sphere.

King Charles, tireless promoter of traditional craftsmanship, could make the still-little-known case to the public that it is precisely because Britain’s housing stock dates from before the 20th century, and was built with traditional breathable materials such as lime, that insulation with modern impermeable materials, as Insulate Britain promote, would worsen the problem. This simple truth, well-known to heritage professionals, has been entirely neglected. And who could have a better pulpit to make the case for a better way forward? For if Britain’s largely Victorian houses could be insulated using traditional materials by a scaled-up, newly-trained workforce of high-skilled, high-wage craftsmen, a major political and economic problem could be resolved according to the methods Charles has spent a lifetime promoting.

Similarly, the recent collapse of much of Britain’s intensive agriculture model has heightened the growing clash between those who believe it is the way to food security, and those who believe it is despoiling Britain’s fields, forests and waterways; nor does it keep the nation fed and healthy, nor our farmers in business. As a longstanding advocate for the small family farm, King Charles can bridge this gap: instead of lecturing the nation on how to do better, he could show how the best nature-friendly farming systems work by converting Buckingham Palace’s 40 acres of private gardens into a working small farm. Imagine a rural oasis of hay meadows and rippling fields of grain in the centre of the capital, a haven of wildlife watched over by our benign farmer king. Through taking action, the king can become a living bridge between the capital and the countryside, the old ways and the new.

While ideas like these may seem trifling and eccentrically small-scale to both the eco-modernists, enraptured by grand geoengineering projects, and to large-scale rewilders alike, it is their pure simplicity that grants them power. While fate has planted him at the nation’s apex, the abiding characteristic of our new king is his genuine love and affection for the humble and vernacular, even if only expressed in an occasional holiday from the super-rich luxuries of his permanent existence. It is a rare head of state who mends hedges and sleeps in peasants’ cottages and monasteries for relaxation (even if his personal lodgings are more those of abbots’ quarters than monks’ cells); he can now share the same powers of regeneration these simple pleasures must bring to him with the nation as a whole.

It is only through converting the advocacy of the Prince of Wales into the necessary labour of showing and doing that our Green Man King can make himself and the monarchy a central, guiding presence in British public life. To heal the new divisions of the coming age, and make the coronation a genuine period of national rebirth, there are worse options than embracing the sheer Weirdness of Charles III.


Aris Roussinos is an UnHerd columnist and a former war reporter.

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Nell Clover
Nell Clover
1 year ago

A champion of small family farms does not support nitrogen emission caps that will force small mixed farms out of business.

An age where our neglect of nuclear power has driven ordinary families into financial difficulty won’t be ended by a leader opposed to the heavy industry industry and industrial systems necessary to build nuclear plants.

A tireless promoter of traditional craftsmanship is not going to foster scalable, cheap and affordable solutions.

A genuine love and affection for the humble by someone who wants a world where ordinary people no longer partake in travel is actually a love of hierarchy and privilege.

Nature-friendly farming systems are intensive and high yielding so minimising the land footprint of farming.

A genuine love and affection for the humble and vernacular is not expressed in an occasional holiday.

Sleeping in peasants’ cottages for a jolly is a simple pleasure but one that isn’t shared with the hoi polloi if you insist on using your retained feudal powers to aggressively raise rents and evict people from your personal fiefdom the Isles of Scily.

A head of state so obviously detached from the reality of his subjects yet extremely comfortable with global elites insisting on a presence in British public affairs and running riot in SW1 because of his birthright will undermine democracy and inflame republican sympathies.

Roussinos’ idea of King Charles has no connection with the reality of Charles and betrays a deep ignorance of the constitutional settlement that permits a monarchy to survive in a free and democratic state.

Last edited 1 year ago by Nell Clover
Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Nell Clover

Third time lucky perhaps?

The two previous incumbents with that name proved to be a “complete waste of rations “.
The first provoked an appalling Civil War, whilst the second, his son, was an outright traitor.

Last edited 1 year ago by Charles Stanhope
Andrew D
Andrew D
1 year ago

In what way was Charles II a traitor?

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago
Reply to  Andrew D

Charles filled us in on how we sold Dunkirk (Cromwell having just won it) back to the French. But there may be other things on the charge sheet. Let’s see !
Perhaps Charles S needs consider changing his name if he’s convinced there’s more than coincidence about Charles underperformance here …

Steve Murray
Steve Murray
1 year ago
Reply to  Peter B

Just what i was thinking.
Whilst Charles S is contemplating the errors of his namesakes, King Stephen was said to be overshadowed by Queen Matilda, whilst in royal lineage you have Peter the Great to boast about!

Last edited 1 year ago by Steve Murray
Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud
1 year ago
Reply to  Steve Murray

a sorry drunk if ever there was one.

Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud
1 year ago
Reply to  Steve Murray

a sorry drunk if ever there was one.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Peter B

Fortunately I didn’t have any Scotch blood!
That I think was the cause of the problem.

Steve Murray
Steve Murray
1 year ago
Reply to  Peter B

Just what i was thinking.
Whilst Charles S is contemplating the errors of his namesakes, King Stephen was said to be overshadowed by Queen Matilda, whilst in royal lineage you have Peter the Great to boast about!

Last edited 1 year ago by Steve Murray
Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Peter B

Fortunately I didn’t have any Scotch blood!
That I think was the cause of the problem.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Andrew D

‘Secret’ Treaty of Dover.

Andrew D
Andrew D
1 year ago

Ah, that. He poped on his deathbed anyway

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Andrew D

That didn’t really matter it was his “selling out” to Louis XIV.
Treason no other word for it.

Last edited 1 year ago by Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Andrew D

That didn’t really matter it was his “selling out” to Louis XIV.
Treason no other word for it.

Last edited 1 year ago by Charles Stanhope
Andrew D
Andrew D
1 year ago

Ah, that. He poped on his deathbed anyway

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago
Reply to  Andrew D

Charles filled us in on how we sold Dunkirk (Cromwell having just won it) back to the French. But there may be other things on the charge sheet. Let’s see !
Perhaps Charles S needs consider changing his name if he’s convinced there’s more than coincidence about Charles underperformance here …

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Andrew D

‘Secret’ Treaty of Dover.

Andrew D
Andrew D
1 year ago

In what way was Charles II a traitor?

Ethniciodo Rodenydo
Ethniciodo Rodenydo
1 year ago
Reply to  Nell Clover

The chinless wonder is an embarrassment.
He seems to believe that an accident of birth gives him a right to public platform. He is completely out of touch with the reality of the lives of ordinary people but thinks he is entitled to lecture us on how we should live our lives while he continues to enjoy a life of privilege, wealth and comfort that the rest of us can barely imagine. All he will succeed in doing is focusing the public’s attention on how anachronistic and repugnant the monarchy is built as it is on hierarchy and deference which Charlie boy seem to think is his entitlement.
His son does not appear to be any better.
A shame because I think their is still value in a constitutional monarchy, provided you have the right monarch

Last edited 1 year ago by Ethniciodo Rodenydo
Nicky Samengo-Turner
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago

Have you paid your prole subscription this year? it’s only the price of a couple of chips on each shoulder?

Ethniciodo Rodenydo
Ethniciodo Rodenydo
1 year ago

You did not read my comment.
My complaint is that Charlie is an arse, which he very plainly is.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago

Your ignorance has been showing for some time now. Calling someone an arse says more about you than about them. Plus, since it’s your opinion not a fact, you should say “I think” Charles is an arse. Take responsibility for your assumptions.

Nicky Samengo-Turner
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago
Reply to  Clare Knight

Jawhol mein Kommandant

Nicky Samengo-Turner
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago
Reply to  Clare Knight

Jawhol mein Kommandant

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago

Your ignorance has been showing for some time now. Calling someone an arse says more about you than about them. Plus, since it’s your opinion not a fact, you should say “I think” Charles is an arse. Take responsibility for your assumptions.

Ethniciodo Rodenydo
Ethniciodo Rodenydo
1 year ago

You did not read my comment.
My complaint is that Charlie is an arse, which he very plainly is.

Josh Woods
Josh Woods
1 year ago

… But with the wrong monarch it is merely glorified nepotism!

Warren Trees
Warren Trees
1 year ago
Reply to  Josh Woods

How can there be a wrong monarch if there is someone who is next in line?

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Warren Trees

Wrong monarch in the sense of lack of character and integrity, not genes.

Josh Woods
Josh Woods
1 year ago
Reply to  Clare Knight

Precisely what I meant, Clare.

Josh Woods
Josh Woods
1 year ago
Reply to  Clare Knight

Precisely what I meant, Clare.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Warren Trees

Wrong monarch in the sense of lack of character and integrity, not genes.

Ruth Ross
Ruth Ross
1 year ago
Reply to  Josh Woods

With ANY so-called Monarch. It is the epitome of Nepotism. I would NEVER make that proclamation his PR firm is promoting, for the crowds at the Coronation to to pledge allegiance to him and his offspring forever and ever. What a complete joke. His mother is rolling her eyes into the back of her head in Heaven. As is his father.

Mick Davis
Mick Davis
1 year ago
Reply to  Ruth Ross

at least we aren’t expected to bang saucepans together this time

Mick Davis
Mick Davis
1 year ago
Reply to  Ruth Ross

at least we aren’t expected to bang saucepans together this time

Warren Trees
Warren Trees
1 year ago
Reply to  Josh Woods

How can there be a wrong monarch if there is someone who is next in line?

Ruth Ross
Ruth Ross
1 year ago
Reply to  Josh Woods

With ANY so-called Monarch. It is the epitome of Nepotism. I would NEVER make that proclamation his PR firm is promoting, for the crowds at the Coronation to to pledge allegiance to him and his offspring forever and ever. What a complete joke. His mother is rolling her eyes into the back of her head in Heaven. As is his father.

Rod Gorman
Rod Gorman
1 year ago

I agree with your last point wholeheartedly. It is certainly applicable in the context of my own country (New Zealand). The constitutional monarchy has truly served us well. Charles’ accession to the throne has however only but fuelled the republican movement in this part of the world; New Zealand once having been a very loyal supporter of his late mother’s (now all but defunct) Commonwealth of Nations. A sad passing. King Charles it seems is more interested in fĂȘting those who are opposed to the monarchy (and Christianity) than he is in offering reassurance to those who were once (traditionally) loyal to it. I will therefore not be watching the coronation of this woke monarch on television and I will be voting (with a heavy heart) that New Zealand becomes a republic when our politicians finally spring that referendum upon us. 

Last edited 1 year ago by Rod Gorman
Maureen Hughes
Maureen Hughes
1 year ago
Reply to  Rod Gorman

Please don’t go. We need you.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Maureen Hughes

Sarcasm I hope!

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Maureen Hughes

Sarcasm I hope!

Ruth Ross
Ruth Ross
1 year ago
Reply to  Rod Gorman

As a Canadian, I am with you. The rest of my comment was just censored by an algorithm.

James Longfield
James Longfield
1 year ago
Reply to  Rod Gorman

For President Jacinta. Really? Careful what you wish for

Andrew Stoll
Andrew Stoll
1 year ago

True, the Governor-General should have simply sacked her.

Andrew Stoll
Andrew Stoll
1 year ago

True, the Governor-General should have simply sacked her.

Maureen Hughes
Maureen Hughes
1 year ago
Reply to  Rod Gorman

Please don’t go. We need you.

Ruth Ross
Ruth Ross
1 year ago
Reply to  Rod Gorman

As a Canadian, I am with you. The rest of my comment was just censored by an algorithm.

James Longfield
James Longfield
1 year ago
Reply to  Rod Gorman

For President Jacinta. Really? Careful what you wish for

Warren Trees
Warren Trees
1 year ago

I thought the main point of a monarchy, in the first place, was to have the bloodline continue to rule. Therefore, it is certainly not an accident of birth. How else do you become a king, by dueling?

Nick Dougan
Nick Dougan
1 year ago
Reply to  Warren Trees

Warren, dueling with as large an armys as you could muster, usually!

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Nick Dougan

Two thousand plus Savoyard mercenaries pulled it off perfectly for the usurper Henry Tudor at Bosworth in 1485 for example.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Nick Dougan

Two thousand plus Savoyard mercenaries pulled it off perfectly for the usurper Henry Tudor at Bosworth in 1485 for example.

Judy Johnson
Judy Johnson
1 year ago
Reply to  Warren Trees

I don’t think the bloodline is the point; rather it is the means. However, it is useful to have a head of state who is not elected so that while the elected leaders change (sometmes too often) , there is some continuity. However, an unelected leader should not have any power and our monarchy fits those criteria.

Nick Dougan
Nick Dougan
1 year ago
Reply to  Warren Trees

Warren, dueling with as large an armys as you could muster, usually!

Judy Johnson
Judy Johnson
1 year ago
Reply to  Warren Trees

I don’t think the bloodline is the point; rather it is the means. However, it is useful to have a head of state who is not elected so that while the elected leaders change (sometmes too often) , there is some continuity. However, an unelected leader should not have any power and our monarchy fits those criteria.

Gillian Johnstone
Gillian Johnstone
1 year ago

I agree. What the late Queen knew and Charles seems to not accept is the Monarch is a symbol. I think the monarchy is a great and unique aspect of the United Kingdom but what a King or Queen thinks, feels, wants is of no interest to me. Her late majesty, or possibly her husband, did a very bad job with her sons, as they all seem to have a sense of entitlement which is in danger of bringing down the whole institution. Edward and William are only saved by having married down to earth, sensible, middle-class girls. Jumping down the slavery, reparations rabbit hole, Charles’s latest stupidity, is never going to appease the groups who hate this country and the monarchy and may indeed be the straw that breaks the backs of the majority of the population, who are not social justice warrior globalists.

Phineas Bury
Phineas Bury
1 year ago

Yes out of touch and more than time for quaint monarchy to go. But Tony Blair for President? And in Irish Republic anglophobic Michael D Higgins going to silly coronation

Robert Walker
Robert Walker
1 year ago

A counter argument is that, denied a vote and a life of his choosing, Charles finds his human rights infringed. Viewed through the lens of harmony, – Harmony: A New Way of Looking at the World, his book, remember? – King Charles III’s loss of individual rights is offset – balanced – by the value of his community service. It is evident, too, that liberal democracy (why we might oppose monarchy) is more about individualism than egalitarianism or human welfare.  
Sinophiles might smile that Charles believes that harmony is a new way of looking at the world, given the concept’s centrality in traditional Chinese thought. He does, in fact, quote the Taoist sage Lao Zi on the unity of nature. But much of what King Charles III writes echoes more closely the words of China’s President Xi Jinping. 
Charles believes that ‘our most pressing modern challenges—from climate change to poverty—are rooted in mankind’s disharmony with nature’ and advocates approaches that not only ‘depend upon us seeing Nature as a whole’, but also ‘the great and practical value in seeing the nature of humanity as a whole’.
Similarly, President Xi Jinping, speaking by video link to the Biological Diversity Conference (COP15), held in Kunming in 2021, opined that ‘all beings flourish when they live in harmony and receive nourishment from nature’ and that ‘if we humanity do not fail nature, nature will not fail us’. Moreover, in his Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October 2022, he argued that the essential requirements of Chinese modernization should include ‘promoting harmony between humanity and nature, building a human community with a shared future, and creating a new form of human advancement.’
Lifelong socialist and world-renowned violinist, Nigel Kennedy, says he would prefer Charles ‘to be prime minister rather than king’ on the grounds that ‘he is more socialist than the Labour Party’.  Maybe he has a point.

Last edited 1 year ago by Robert Walker
Nicky Samengo-Turner
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago

Have you paid your prole subscription this year? it’s only the price of a couple of chips on each shoulder?

Josh Woods
Josh Woods
1 year ago

… But with the wrong monarch it is merely glorified nepotism!

Rod Gorman
Rod Gorman
1 year ago

I agree with your last point wholeheartedly. It is certainly applicable in the context of my own country (New Zealand). The constitutional monarchy has truly served us well. Charles’ accession to the throne has however only but fuelled the republican movement in this part of the world; New Zealand once having been a very loyal supporter of his late mother’s (now all but defunct) Commonwealth of Nations. A sad passing. King Charles it seems is more interested in fĂȘting those who are opposed to the monarchy (and Christianity) than he is in offering reassurance to those who were once (traditionally) loyal to it. I will therefore not be watching the coronation of this woke monarch on television and I will be voting (with a heavy heart) that New Zealand becomes a republic when our politicians finally spring that referendum upon us. 

Last edited 1 year ago by Rod Gorman
Warren Trees
Warren Trees
1 year ago

I thought the main point of a monarchy, in the first place, was to have the bloodline continue to rule. Therefore, it is certainly not an accident of birth. How else do you become a king, by dueling?

Gillian Johnstone
Gillian Johnstone
1 year ago

I agree. What the late Queen knew and Charles seems to not accept is the Monarch is a symbol. I think the monarchy is a great and unique aspect of the United Kingdom but what a King or Queen thinks, feels, wants is of no interest to me. Her late majesty, or possibly her husband, did a very bad job with her sons, as they all seem to have a sense of entitlement which is in danger of bringing down the whole institution. Edward and William are only saved by having married down to earth, sensible, middle-class girls. Jumping down the slavery, reparations rabbit hole, Charles’s latest stupidity, is never going to appease the groups who hate this country and the monarchy and may indeed be the straw that breaks the backs of the majority of the population, who are not social justice warrior globalists.

Phineas Bury
Phineas Bury
1 year ago

Yes out of touch and more than time for quaint monarchy to go. But Tony Blair for President? And in Irish Republic anglophobic Michael D Higgins going to silly coronation

Robert Walker
Robert Walker
1 year ago

A counter argument is that, denied a vote and a life of his choosing, Charles finds his human rights infringed. Viewed through the lens of harmony, – Harmony: A New Way of Looking at the World, his book, remember? – King Charles III’s loss of individual rights is offset – balanced – by the value of his community service. It is evident, too, that liberal democracy (why we might oppose monarchy) is more about individualism than egalitarianism or human welfare.  
Sinophiles might smile that Charles believes that harmony is a new way of looking at the world, given the concept’s centrality in traditional Chinese thought. He does, in fact, quote the Taoist sage Lao Zi on the unity of nature. But much of what King Charles III writes echoes more closely the words of China’s President Xi Jinping. 
Charles believes that ‘our most pressing modern challenges—from climate change to poverty—are rooted in mankind’s disharmony with nature’ and advocates approaches that not only ‘depend upon us seeing Nature as a whole’, but also ‘the great and practical value in seeing the nature of humanity as a whole’.
Similarly, President Xi Jinping, speaking by video link to the Biological Diversity Conference (COP15), held in Kunming in 2021, opined that ‘all beings flourish when they live in harmony and receive nourishment from nature’ and that ‘if we humanity do not fail nature, nature will not fail us’. Moreover, in his Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October 2022, he argued that the essential requirements of Chinese modernization should include ‘promoting harmony between humanity and nature, building a human community with a shared future, and creating a new form of human advancement.’
Lifelong socialist and world-renowned violinist, Nigel Kennedy, says he would prefer Charles ‘to be prime minister rather than king’ on the grounds that ‘he is more socialist than the Labour Party’.  Maybe he has a point.

Last edited 1 year ago by Robert Walker
Robbie K
Robbie K
1 year ago
Reply to  Nell Clover

All very mean spirited comments.
He’s far from perfect but at least Charles’ heart is in the right place, his philosophies and convictions are well intentended and he appears to genuinely care for individuals and the wider public.

John Solomon
John Solomon
1 year ago
Reply to  Robbie K

It’s not where his heart is that matters : it’ where his brain is that counts.
He has to remember that he is a constitutional monarch, not a ruler. The Government rules – Charles’s job is to smile and wave, and keep his opinions (whether fatuous or not) to himself.
His mother may have been wise, or not, but she had the good sense not to provide ammunition against herself.

Robbie K
Robbie K
1 year ago
Reply to  John Solomon

He seems to do this rather well most of the time, must be very difficult to appear wise and worthy yet please all factions, as seen in Nell Clover’s cynical comments above.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  John Solomon

The queen was passive/aggressive, rather dull and lacking in curiosity. These personality traits worked well for a monarch in past centuries, but we’ve outgrown those type of characteristics. It’s going to be far more challenging for Charles to be king than it was for Elizabeth to be queen. I’m not a royalist, but I wish the poor b****r good luck.

Last edited 1 year ago by Clare Knight
Kate Heusser
Kate Heusser
1 year ago
Reply to  John Solomon

And the ‘good sense’ to accede to the throne on the death of her father when she was twenty-five?
Our present King had to carve out a role for himself during his mother’s long and blessedly capable reign. He used his time to champion many in the UK and Commonwealth who otherwise had no champion, and used his influence for the good, particularly, of young people who had poor life chances but plenty of motivation. Perhaps those who are so ready to dismiss him would do well to take a look at what he has done, rather than using their ignorance as a platform for denigrating him.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  John Solomon

Except that by being passive/aggressive her lack of taking action had negative consequences as much as if she had been assertive.

Robbie K
Robbie K
1 year ago
Reply to  John Solomon

He seems to do this rather well most of the time, must be very difficult to appear wise and worthy yet please all factions, as seen in Nell Clover’s cynical comments above.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  John Solomon

The queen was passive/aggressive, rather dull and lacking in curiosity. These personality traits worked well for a monarch in past centuries, but we’ve outgrown those type of characteristics. It’s going to be far more challenging for Charles to be king than it was for Elizabeth to be queen. I’m not a royalist, but I wish the poor b****r good luck.

Last edited 1 year ago by Clare Knight
Kate Heusser
Kate Heusser
1 year ago
Reply to  John Solomon

And the ‘good sense’ to accede to the throne on the death of her father when she was twenty-five?
Our present King had to carve out a role for himself during his mother’s long and blessedly capable reign. He used his time to champion many in the UK and Commonwealth who otherwise had no champion, and used his influence for the good, particularly, of young people who had poor life chances but plenty of motivation. Perhaps those who are so ready to dismiss him would do well to take a look at what he has done, rather than using their ignorance as a platform for denigrating him.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  John Solomon

Except that by being passive/aggressive her lack of taking action had negative consequences as much as if she had been assertive.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Robbie K

Well said and true. One doesn’t get the feeling that Charles is self-serving like Andrew. He’s committed to the job he inherited just as his mother was. Of course, there are outrageous perks to the job but nevertheless it looks pretty tedious.

Nell Clover
Nell Clover
1 year ago
Reply to  Robbie K

In what way does he appear to care for individuals? He has been evicting his tenants from the Isles of Scily using a unique perogative held by no one else, not even the state, that denies tenants the right to buy their freehold. Worse still, Charles used his position – in secret, only revealed in the spider letters – to ensure recent legislation protected that privilege. This is a man literally abusing his feudal powers to rinse tenants.

Robbie K
Robbie K
1 year ago
Reply to  Nell Clover

You clearly have an issue with him, so these kind of conspiracies will sit well with your biases. He’s a good and honest man whether you like him or not.

Ruth Ross
Ruth Ross
1 year ago
Reply to  Robbie K

How on earth would you know that? Someone as rich as he, evicting freeholders? They work the land because of the promise of OWNING it after their labour. He cheated them.

Ruth Ross
Ruth Ross
1 year ago
Reply to  Robbie K

How on earth would you know that? Someone as rich as he, evicting freeholders? They work the land because of the promise of OWNING it after their labour. He cheated them.

Robbie K
Robbie K
1 year ago
Reply to  Nell Clover

You clearly have an issue with him, so these kind of conspiracies will sit well with your biases. He’s a good and honest man whether you like him or not.

Ruth Ross
Ruth Ross
1 year ago
Reply to  Robbie K

He is a promoter of the World Economic Forum. That group of elitists are NOT well intended, nor do they care one bit for ‘the common man’. I believe one of their members, Hillary Clinton, described their thinking on we useless eaters (WEF wording) as ‘deplorables’. Lest we forget.

John Solomon
John Solomon
1 year ago
Reply to  Robbie K

It’s not where his heart is that matters : it’ where his brain is that counts.
He has to remember that he is a constitutional monarch, not a ruler. The Government rules – Charles’s job is to smile and wave, and keep his opinions (whether fatuous or not) to himself.
His mother may have been wise, or not, but she had the good sense not to provide ammunition against herself.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Robbie K

Well said and true. One doesn’t get the feeling that Charles is self-serving like Andrew. He’s committed to the job he inherited just as his mother was. Of course, there are outrageous perks to the job but nevertheless it looks pretty tedious.

Nell Clover
Nell Clover
1 year ago
Reply to  Robbie K

In what way does he appear to care for individuals? He has been evicting his tenants from the Isles of Scily using a unique perogative held by no one else, not even the state, that denies tenants the right to buy their freehold. Worse still, Charles used his position – in secret, only revealed in the spider letters – to ensure recent legislation protected that privilege. This is a man literally abusing his feudal powers to rinse tenants.

Ruth Ross
Ruth Ross
1 year ago
Reply to  Robbie K

He is a promoter of the World Economic Forum. That group of elitists are NOT well intended, nor do they care one bit for ‘the common man’. I believe one of their members, Hillary Clinton, described their thinking on we useless eaters (WEF wording) as ‘deplorables’. Lest we forget.

Phil Rees
Phil Rees
1 year ago
Reply to  Nell Clover

Excellent comment. Spot on, the article is lost in he same unreal place that Charles likes to see himself.

Kate Heusser
Kate Heusser
1 year ago
Reply to  Phil Rees

‘Excellent’ because you know what she’s talking about, or just because your prejudices chime with her comment?

Kate Heusser
Kate Heusser
1 year ago
Reply to  Phil Rees

‘Excellent’ because you know what she’s talking about, or just because your prejudices chime with her comment?

Ruth Ross
Ruth Ross
1 year ago
Reply to  Nell Clover

Totally agree. I could not believe what I was reading: Green Man King, what pap.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Nell Clover

Third time lucky perhaps?

The two previous incumbents with that name proved to be a “complete waste of rations “.
The first provoked an appalling Civil War, whilst the second, his son, was an outright traitor.

Last edited 1 year ago by Charles Stanhope
Ethniciodo Rodenydo
Ethniciodo Rodenydo
1 year ago
Reply to  Nell Clover

The chinless wonder is an embarrassment.
He seems to believe that an accident of birth gives him a right to public platform. He is completely out of touch with the reality of the lives of ordinary people but thinks he is entitled to lecture us on how we should live our lives while he continues to enjoy a life of privilege, wealth and comfort that the rest of us can barely imagine. All he will succeed in doing is focusing the public’s attention on how anachronistic and repugnant the monarchy is built as it is on hierarchy and deference which Charlie boy seem to think is his entitlement.
His son does not appear to be any better.
A shame because I think their is still value in a constitutional monarchy, provided you have the right monarch

Last edited 1 year ago by Ethniciodo Rodenydo
Robbie K
Robbie K
1 year ago
Reply to  Nell Clover

All very mean spirited comments.
He’s far from perfect but at least Charles’ heart is in the right place, his philosophies and convictions are well intentended and he appears to genuinely care for individuals and the wider public.

Phil Rees
Phil Rees
1 year ago
Reply to  Nell Clover

Excellent comment. Spot on, the article is lost in he same unreal place that Charles likes to see himself.

Ruth Ross
Ruth Ross
1 year ago
Reply to  Nell Clover

Totally agree. I could not believe what I was reading: Green Man King, what pap.

Nell Clover
Nell Clover
1 year ago

A champion of small family farms does not support nitrogen emission caps that will force small mixed farms out of business.

An age where our neglect of nuclear power has driven ordinary families into financial difficulty won’t be ended by a leader opposed to the heavy industry industry and industrial systems necessary to build nuclear plants.

A tireless promoter of traditional craftsmanship is not going to foster scalable, cheap and affordable solutions.

A genuine love and affection for the humble by someone who wants a world where ordinary people no longer partake in travel is actually a love of hierarchy and privilege.

Nature-friendly farming systems are intensive and high yielding so minimising the land footprint of farming.

A genuine love and affection for the humble and vernacular is not expressed in an occasional holiday.

Sleeping in peasants’ cottages for a jolly is a simple pleasure but one that isn’t shared with the hoi polloi if you insist on using your retained feudal powers to aggressively raise rents and evict people from your personal fiefdom the Isles of Scily.

A head of state so obviously detached from the reality of his subjects yet extremely comfortable with global elites insisting on a presence in British public affairs and running riot in SW1 because of his birthright will undermine democracy and inflame republican sympathies.

Roussinos’ idea of King Charles has no connection with the reality of Charles and betrays a deep ignorance of the constitutional settlement that permits a monarchy to survive in a free and democratic state.

Last edited 1 year ago by Nell Clover
Katharine Eyre
Katharine Eyre
1 year ago

King Charles was – and will always be – the Patron Saint of the Chronically Uncool. And, as a lifelong member of that particular club, I’m a supporter!
The fact that he was banging on about the environment YEARS before it all went mainstream gives him the kind of prophetic authority that being King requires. I fully believe that Charles is going to be so much better than anyone ever thought and a skilled statesman and diplomat.
Come coronation day, I am going to be stuck to the TV screen. I can’t wait to see this ancient rite performed. Partly because, even though I have been a monarchist all my life (I was born on the Queen’s birthday, I had to be!), I don’t know how I’m going to feel about it all. Am I going to be moved or think it all absurd? The only way to find out is to watch I guess, so I’m here for it!
I’ll have my little party at home in Austria with coronation quiche and black tea with milk and absolutely NO flag-waving or memorabilia junk. Boo to all the naysayers and the miseries, I’m sick of all the negativity. It’s a historic day and I’ll be putting on a nice dress to celebrate.

Last edited 1 year ago by Katharine Eyre
Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Don’t forget a large slice of ‘Sachertorte’.

Katharine Eyre
Katharine Eyre
1 year ago

Ooo, well I’m a bit blasphemous on that front Charles. I don’t think Sachertorte is that great. If we’re talking typical Viennese cakes, the Esterhazy Schnitte is the way to go.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Thank you for that recommendation, with such a ‘famous’ name it will be very hard to resist!

Maurice Austin
Maurice Austin
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

I second your Sachertorte motion!

Dougie Undersub
Dougie Undersub
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Sachertorte would be alright if it wasn’t for the apricot jam. I’ll be in Vienna in June, so will definitely look out for Schnitte.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago

There is a splendid cut-away model of the Austria-Hungarian Dreadnought S.M.S. Viribus Unitis, at the Military Museum, housed in the Arsenal, just to the north of the main Railway Station.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago

There is a splendid cut-away model of the Austria-Hungarian Dreadnought S.M.S. Viribus Unitis, at the Military Museum, housed in the Arsenal, just to the north of the main Railway Station.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Thank you for that recommendation, with such a ‘famous’ name it will be very hard to resist!

Maurice Austin
Maurice Austin
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

I second your Sachertorte motion!

Dougie Undersub
Dougie Undersub
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Sachertorte would be alright if it wasn’t for the apricot jam. I’ll be in Vienna in June, so will definitely look out for Schnitte.

Katharine Eyre
Katharine Eyre
1 year ago

Ooo, well I’m a bit blasphemous on that front Charles. I don’t think Sachertorte is that great. If we’re talking typical Viennese cakes, the Esterhazy Schnitte is the way to go.

Martin Bollis
Martin Bollis
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

I am a royalist. I think a non party aligned head of state, trained and connected over a life time, is of huge value. The history of it all is also of massive value to the economy through tourism.

We’re on the flight path into London so the 70 formation Typhoons and the Battle of Britain memorial flight came right over our garden on the queen’s jubilee. Much cheering from surrounding gardens.

My daughters cul de sac had a street party. The traditional sandwiches were much enhanced by more exotic delicacies from her Syrian, Thai and Romanian neighbours
and the Ukrainians who live with us. The whole thing was great.

I’m in Namibia at the moment. My Namibian landlord lives in Manchester and is taking his family down for the coronation. The Ukrainians living in our house are taking their family in for it. My wife will watch as much of it as possible on the tv here.

I don’t know why it’s not doing it for me. Maybe it’s my generation’s aversion to “showing off,” – just about acceptable if you really have something to show off about, really rather sad if you haven’t.

That said, your weariness with negativity strikes a chord. I’ll raise a glass to Charles, probably through a lot of cringing.

Last edited 1 year ago by Martin Bollis
Katharine Eyre
Katharine Eyre
1 year ago
Reply to  Martin Bollis

Have so much fun in Namibia, I went there in 2010 and it was absolutely wonderful. It was a physically tough trip (camping in the desert) but the landscape was just stunning and I have such happy memories of it.
I think this aversion to negativity is the real driving force behind wanting to have a party. I didn’t do that for the jubilee, even though I watched some of it on the TV. The UK and the world at large are in a right old state and who knows what the future will bring. God knows I lie awake at night sometimes and worry about everything from poverty in old-age to AI to the water that is seeping up from under the tiles in my bathroom.
But you can be certain of one thing: nothing good will ever happen if we are all permanently grumpy and give in to negativity. Raise your glass (or bottle of Windhoek lager) with joy.

Last edited 1 year ago by Katharine Eyre
Nicky Samengo-Turner
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Nabibia? where is that? Does it still exist?

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago

German South West Africa.

Martin Bollis
Martin Bollis
1 year ago

A surprising amount of German is still spoken here and there are several German speaking schools.

I hadn’t been aware that they conducted a full on genocidal ethnic cleansing campaign here 1905-08. Up to 500,000 dead.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Martin Bollis

A dress rehearsal so to speak.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Martin Bollis

A dress rehearsal so to speak.

Nicky Samengo-Turner
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago

Only joking!

Martin Bollis
Martin Bollis
1 year ago

A surprising amount of German is still spoken here and there are several German speaking schools.

I hadn’t been aware that they conducted a full on genocidal ethnic cleansing campaign here 1905-08. Up to 500,000 dead.

Nicky Samengo-Turner
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago

Only joking!

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago

Google it, twit.

Nicky Samengo-Turner
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago
Reply to  Clare Knight

just pulling your t*t

Nicky Samengo-Turner
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago
Reply to  Clare Knight

just pulling your t*t

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago

German South West Africa.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago

Google it, twit.

Martin Bollis
Martin Bollis
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

We’ve just got back from a trip round northern Namibia and Botswana sleeping in roof top tents. Absolutely marvellous, stunning, magical.

Things slip back into perspective when you don’t see any news for three weeks. Huge chunks of the world still live in shacks, know what sex they are, have big but supportive families and, in many respects, are doing just fine.

Also good to do a bit of men behaving badly in my dotage. It’s official – a Toyota HiLux is indestructible. Heaven knows we tried.

I’ll probably stick to a good South African red to toast Charlie.

Katharine Eyre
Katharine Eyre
1 year ago
Reply to  Martin Bollis

My God, I don’t think my spine has ever completely recovered from the long drives along those Namibian roads in one of the big tourist trucks.
Be sure to read “Sheltering Desert” by Henno Martin, it’s wonderful and quite the Namibian classic: http://the-sheltering-desert.com/
Not to mention another reminder just how good we still have it in spite of current problems.

Last edited 1 year ago by Katharine Eyre
Martin Bollis
Martin Bollis
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Thanks I’ll look it up.

Next stop is a couple of months in Maun, Botswana. Try Cry of the Kalahari by mark and delia owens (author of Where the Crawdads Sing).

Fabulous

Martin Bollis
Martin Bollis
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Thanks I’ll look it up.

Next stop is a couple of months in Maun, Botswana. Try Cry of the Kalahari by mark and delia owens (author of Where the Crawdads Sing).

Fabulous

Katharine Eyre
Katharine Eyre
1 year ago
Reply to  Martin Bollis

My God, I don’t think my spine has ever completely recovered from the long drives along those Namibian roads in one of the big tourist trucks.
Be sure to read “Sheltering Desert” by Henno Martin, it’s wonderful and quite the Namibian classic: http://the-sheltering-desert.com/
Not to mention another reminder just how good we still have it in spite of current problems.

Last edited 1 year ago by Katharine Eyre
Nicky Samengo-Turner
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Nabibia? where is that? Does it still exist?

Martin Bollis
Martin Bollis
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

We’ve just got back from a trip round northern Namibia and Botswana sleeping in roof top tents. Absolutely marvellous, stunning, magical.

Things slip back into perspective when you don’t see any news for three weeks. Huge chunks of the world still live in shacks, know what sex they are, have big but supportive families and, in many respects, are doing just fine.

Also good to do a bit of men behaving badly in my dotage. It’s official – a Toyota HiLux is indestructible. Heaven knows we tried.

I’ll probably stick to a good South African red to toast Charlie.

Katharine Eyre
Katharine Eyre
1 year ago
Reply to  Martin Bollis

Not to lay it on too thick here but your Syrian, Romanian and Ukrainian friends and neighbours have got it right. They might have grown up under an oppressive regime, lived through the aftermath of the fall of communism, or had to leave their countries because of war. And yet they are celebrating! If you are healthy, safe, alive and in a free, peaceful country then that is reason enough.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Martin Bollis

My feelings exactly. It’s called ambivalence!!

Katharine Eyre
Katharine Eyre
1 year ago
Reply to  Martin Bollis

Have so much fun in Namibia, I went there in 2010 and it was absolutely wonderful. It was a physically tough trip (camping in the desert) but the landscape was just stunning and I have such happy memories of it.
I think this aversion to negativity is the real driving force behind wanting to have a party. I didn’t do that for the jubilee, even though I watched some of it on the TV. The UK and the world at large are in a right old state and who knows what the future will bring. God knows I lie awake at night sometimes and worry about everything from poverty in old-age to AI to the water that is seeping up from under the tiles in my bathroom.
But you can be certain of one thing: nothing good will ever happen if we are all permanently grumpy and give in to negativity. Raise your glass (or bottle of Windhoek lager) with joy.

Last edited 1 year ago by Katharine Eyre
Katharine Eyre
Katharine Eyre
1 year ago
Reply to  Martin Bollis

Not to lay it on too thick here but your Syrian, Romanian and Ukrainian friends and neighbours have got it right. They might have grown up under an oppressive regime, lived through the aftermath of the fall of communism, or had to leave their countries because of war. And yet they are celebrating! If you are healthy, safe, alive and in a free, peaceful country then that is reason enough.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Martin Bollis

My feelings exactly. It’s called ambivalence!!

Martin Brumby
Martin Brumby
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Katherine, you are, of course perfectly entitled to sign up to the King’s mad GangGreen religion if that is what you want to believe.
The fact that there is zero scientific evidence that a trivial increase in a trace gas essential to all life on Earth and an associated probably trivial increase in warmth has been anything but BENEFICIAL will no doubt be brushed away by not only the King but also by you and his legions of supplicants. (Not to mention those who trouser the enormous ill-gotten gains).
Maybe in a few years, when you are increasingly negatively effected by the WEF’s policies, the ridiculously expensive and unreliable Ruinable Energy, the destruction of the economy, the obvious fact that “weather” is not noticeably any more “extreme” than it ever has been; then you may have a Damascene conversion back to reality.
But it will then be too late. A pity about the gullibility, but there you are.
I greatly regret the lost opportunity of the common sense, hard working, humane alternative of Good Queen Anne II.

Katharine Eyre
Katharine Eyre
1 year ago
Reply to  Martin Brumby

The Good Queen Anne II? Britain has only ever had one Queen Anne and her biggest achievement was to be as wide as she was tall.

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Time for the slimline version then ?
We did actually rack up some pretty impressive away results against the French under Queen Anne. Andshe did a nice style in houses.
Greatly enjoyed your comments and this whole thread. Enjoy the celebrations in Austria.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Peter B

Not so good in the Peninsula, where Berwick & Co, simply thrashed us.

Almansa being a particularly humiliating defeat, probably unrivalled until Dunkirk or Singapore.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Peter B

Not so good in the Peninsula, where Berwick & Co, simply thrashed us.

Almansa being a particularly humiliating defeat, probably unrivalled until Dunkirk or Singapore.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

I think Martin means he’d rather have Charles’s sister, Anne, as the next monarch, don’t you Martin?

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Time for the slimline version then ?
We did actually rack up some pretty impressive away results against the French under Queen Anne. Andshe did a nice style in houses.
Greatly enjoyed your comments and this whole thread. Enjoy the celebrations in Austria.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

I think Martin means he’d rather have Charles’s sister, Anne, as the next monarch, don’t you Martin?

Stephanie Surface
Stephanie Surface
1 year ago
Reply to  Martin Brumby

Yes, even Prince Philip was cured of the Green Religion in his old age. I think Charles had quite a few arguments with his sister, who is more of a realist and open to counter arguments, especially about farming. I am with you:
Queen Anne II would have been the better alternative to Charles III.

Katharine Eyre
Katharine Eyre
1 year ago
Reply to  Martin Brumby

The Good Queen Anne II? Britain has only ever had one Queen Anne and her biggest achievement was to be as wide as she was tall.

Stephanie Surface
Stephanie Surface
1 year ago
Reply to  Martin Brumby

Yes, even Prince Philip was cured of the Green Religion in his old age. I think Charles had quite a few arguments with his sister, who is more of a realist and open to counter arguments, especially about farming. I am with you:
Queen Anne II would have been the better alternative to Charles III.

Rick Lawrence
Rick Lawrence
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Hear hear. Well said, Katherine

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

I’m ambivalent about royalty. I feel about it as do about religion they’re both a load of rubbish. But I like Christmas carols, medieval churches and stained glass windows as much as I like castles, royal gossip and pageantry. The Bucolic, English, pastoral life of my childhood is in my blood, and seeing a picture of a bluebell wood still brings tears to my eyes. I anticipated that watching the queen’s funeral would irritate me, but to my surprise I wept for hours along with many others. I realize the funeral itself was merely the trigger for a catharsis, and that the grief had little to do with the queen’s death. Nevertheless……………….

Last edited 1 year ago by Clare Knight
Katharine Eyre
Katharine Eyre
1 year ago
Reply to  Clare Knight

Oddly, I didn’t weep at the Queen’s funeral. I just felt profoundly grateful to have grown up in a country headed up by such a great lady.
It was Prince Philip’s funeral where the waterworks got turned on. I was never a big fan of his in life – in fact I didn’t think about him much at all. I think it was because I only realised when he died just how much he had given up to marry the Queen and how much good he had done. And that reading about the natural world in the almost empty chapel…that finished me off completely.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

I don’t understand what you mean by “reading about the natural world”.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

I don’t understand what you mean by “reading about the natural world”.

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago
Reply to  Clare Knight

You’re not alone. I feel pretty much the same as these things.

Katharine Eyre
Katharine Eyre
1 year ago
Reply to  Clare Knight

Oddly, I didn’t weep at the Queen’s funeral. I just felt profoundly grateful to have grown up in a country headed up by such a great lady.
It was Prince Philip’s funeral where the waterworks got turned on. I was never a big fan of his in life – in fact I didn’t think about him much at all. I think it was because I only realised when he died just how much he had given up to marry the Queen and how much good he had done. And that reading about the natural world in the almost empty chapel…that finished me off completely.

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago
Reply to  Clare Knight

You’re not alone. I feel pretty much the same as these things.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Don’t forget a large slice of ‘Sachertorte’.

Martin Bollis
Martin Bollis
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

I am a royalist. I think a non party aligned head of state, trained and connected over a life time, is of huge value. The history of it all is also of massive value to the economy through tourism.

We’re on the flight path into London so the 70 formation Typhoons and the Battle of Britain memorial flight came right over our garden on the queen’s jubilee. Much cheering from surrounding gardens.

My daughters cul de sac had a street party. The traditional sandwiches were much enhanced by more exotic delicacies from her Syrian, Thai and Romanian neighbours
and the Ukrainians who live with us. The whole thing was great.

I’m in Namibia at the moment. My Namibian landlord lives in Manchester and is taking his family down for the coronation. The Ukrainians living in our house are taking their family in for it. My wife will watch as much of it as possible on the tv here.

I don’t know why it’s not doing it for me. Maybe it’s my generation’s aversion to “showing off,” – just about acceptable if you really have something to show off about, really rather sad if you haven’t.

That said, your weariness with negativity strikes a chord. I’ll raise a glass to Charles, probably through a lot of cringing.

Last edited 1 year ago by Martin Bollis
Martin Brumby
Martin Brumby
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Katherine, you are, of course perfectly entitled to sign up to the King’s mad GangGreen religion if that is what you want to believe.
The fact that there is zero scientific evidence that a trivial increase in a trace gas essential to all life on Earth and an associated probably trivial increase in warmth has been anything but BENEFICIAL will no doubt be brushed away by not only the King but also by you and his legions of supplicants. (Not to mention those who trouser the enormous ill-gotten gains).
Maybe in a few years, when you are increasingly negatively effected by the WEF’s policies, the ridiculously expensive and unreliable Ruinable Energy, the destruction of the economy, the obvious fact that “weather” is not noticeably any more “extreme” than it ever has been; then you may have a Damascene conversion back to reality.
But it will then be too late. A pity about the gullibility, but there you are.
I greatly regret the lost opportunity of the common sense, hard working, humane alternative of Good Queen Anne II.

Rick Lawrence
Rick Lawrence
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

Hear hear. Well said, Katherine

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Katharine Eyre

I’m ambivalent about royalty. I feel about it as do about religion they’re both a load of rubbish. But I like Christmas carols, medieval churches and stained glass windows as much as I like castles, royal gossip and pageantry. The Bucolic, English, pastoral life of my childhood is in my blood, and seeing a picture of a bluebell wood still brings tears to my eyes. I anticipated that watching the queen’s funeral would irritate me, but to my surprise I wept for hours along with many others. I realize the funeral itself was merely the trigger for a catharsis, and that the grief had little to do with the queen’s death. Nevertheless……………….

Last edited 1 year ago by Clare Knight
Katharine Eyre
Katharine Eyre
1 year ago

King Charles was – and will always be – the Patron Saint of the Chronically Uncool. And, as a lifelong member of that particular club, I’m a supporter!
The fact that he was banging on about the environment YEARS before it all went mainstream gives him the kind of prophetic authority that being King requires. I fully believe that Charles is going to be so much better than anyone ever thought and a skilled statesman and diplomat.
Come coronation day, I am going to be stuck to the TV screen. I can’t wait to see this ancient rite performed. Partly because, even though I have been a monarchist all my life (I was born on the Queen’s birthday, I had to be!), I don’t know how I’m going to feel about it all. Am I going to be moved or think it all absurd? The only way to find out is to watch I guess, so I’m here for it!
I’ll have my little party at home in Austria with coronation quiche and black tea with milk and absolutely NO flag-waving or memorabilia junk. Boo to all the naysayers and the miseries, I’m sick of all the negativity. It’s a historic day and I’ll be putting on a nice dress to celebrate.

Last edited 1 year ago by Katharine Eyre
Kerie Receveur
Kerie Receveur
1 year ago

The last thing this country needs is another WEF shill.

jay bee
jay bee
1 year ago
Reply to  Kerie Receveur


he’s part of that club.
The article is satire – isn’t it?

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago
Reply to  jay bee

One can only hope so.

Josh Woods
Josh Woods
1 year ago
Reply to  jay bee

If only it was satire.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  jay bee

Hard to tell.

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago
Reply to  jay bee

One can only hope so.

Josh Woods
Josh Woods
1 year ago
Reply to  jay bee

If only it was satire.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  jay bee

Hard to tell.

Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud
1 year ago
Reply to  Kerie Receveur

Is Charles a WEF shill, or is Charles doing as his Minister’s bid him to do?

Josh Woods
Josh Woods
1 year ago
Reply to  Scott McCloud

He isn’t just some WEF shill, but in fact among its top ringleaders, ironically along with Tony Blair.

Josh Woods
Josh Woods
1 year ago
Reply to  Scott McCloud

He isn’t just some WEF shill, but in fact among its top ringleaders, ironically along with Tony Blair.

Robbie K
Robbie K
1 year ago
Reply to  Kerie Receveur

Give it a rest.

Glyn R
Glyn R
1 year ago
Reply to  Kerie Receveur

When it comes to the WEF, I think he is more of a useful idiot, well meaning no doubt, as so many useful idiots are, but an idiot none the less. There seems to be many of them around sadly.

Last edited 1 year ago by Glyn R
jay bee
jay bee
1 year ago
Reply to  Kerie Receveur


he’s part of that club.
The article is satire – isn’t it?

Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud
1 year ago
Reply to  Kerie Receveur

Is Charles a WEF shill, or is Charles doing as his Minister’s bid him to do?

Robbie K
Robbie K
1 year ago
Reply to  Kerie Receveur

Give it a rest.

Glyn R
Glyn R
1 year ago
Reply to  Kerie Receveur

When it comes to the WEF, I think he is more of a useful idiot, well meaning no doubt, as so many useful idiots are, but an idiot none the less. There seems to be many of them around sadly.

Last edited 1 year ago by Glyn R
Kerie Receveur
Kerie Receveur
1 year ago

The last thing this country needs is another WEF shill.

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago

“Similarly, the recent collapse of much of Britain’s intensive agriculture model”.
Really ?
Offered with zero evidence and I suspect quite untrue from visual evidence around me in Cambridgeshire.
The biggest threat to intensive arable farming round these parts is the taxpayer subsidised solar farming. All of it on prime arable land.

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago

“Similarly, the recent collapse of much of Britain’s intensive agriculture model”.
Really ?
Offered with zero evidence and I suspect quite untrue from visual evidence around me in Cambridgeshire.
The biggest threat to intensive arable farming round these parts is the taxpayer subsidised solar farming. All of it on prime arable land.

R Wright
R Wright
1 year ago

I remain cautious and sceptical. Whether the monarch embraces the English eccentric or the globalist technocrat remains to be seen. I can only hope he goes with the former.

R Wright
R Wright
1 year ago

I remain cautious and sceptical. Whether the monarch embraces the English eccentric or the globalist technocrat remains to be seen. I can only hope he goes with the former.

Mike Michaels
Mike Michaels
1 year ago

WEF Charlie? No thanks.

Simon S
Simon S
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike Michaels

I would like to think he has realized his mistake. We will see. All of us make errors, and at the same time all of us come under competing influences. The corporate-political elite is waiting to see how serious a threat Charles may be. If he proves not to be one of their own, and not just simply a little weird, then they will work very hard indeed to make him out to be very weird indeed.

Last edited 1 year ago by Simon S
Simon S
Simon S
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike Michaels

I would like to think he has realized his mistake. We will see. All of us make errors, and at the same time all of us come under competing influences. The corporate-political elite is waiting to see how serious a threat Charles may be. If he proves not to be one of their own, and not just simply a little weird, then they will work very hard indeed to make him out to be very weird indeed.

Last edited 1 year ago by Simon S
Mike Michaels
Mike Michaels
1 year ago

WEF Charlie? No thanks.

Bernard Hill
Bernard Hill
1 year ago

…your best ever Aris.

Bernard Hill
Bernard Hill
1 year ago

…your best ever Aris.

Derek Turner
Derek Turner
1 year ago

“Farmer George”, with his keen interest in agriculture and genuine commitment to England, bedded down the Hanoverians. Perhaps “Ecowarrior Charles” can likewise connect at some instinctive, almost mystical, level with the land, and national sentiment – and refresh the ruling house after decades of drift

Derek Turner
Derek Turner
1 year ago

“Farmer George”, with his keen interest in agriculture and genuine commitment to England, bedded down the Hanoverians. Perhaps “Ecowarrior Charles” can likewise connect at some instinctive, almost mystical, level with the land, and national sentiment – and refresh the ruling house after decades of drift

Jimmy Snooks
Jimmy Snooks
1 year ago

Superb article. The first paragraph is a minor masterpiece in itself.

Charles Rivers
Charles Rivers
1 year ago
Reply to  Jimmy Snooks

Agreed, a fine article. ‘Part pampered dandy, part Athite [from Mt Athos] mystic’ sums up this contradictory monarch’s character very well

Charles Rivers
Charles Rivers
1 year ago
Reply to  Jimmy Snooks

Agreed, a fine article. ‘Part pampered dandy, part Athite [from Mt Athos] mystic’ sums up this contradictory monarch’s character very well

Jimmy Snooks
Jimmy Snooks
1 year ago

Superb article. The first paragraph is a minor masterpiece in itself.

Nicola Keane
Nicola Keane
1 year ago

Let’s not pretend that Charles is on a lonely and misunderstood mission to promote organic and small scale farming when one of his first acts was to sign into law the Genetic Technology Act 2023. Whatever one thinks of the safety, benefits or otherwise of genetic modification in food and animals, this kind of of GM is a massive commercial opportunity which Charles, being one of our largest landowners will likely understand and exploit. Genuine question – Why does this Act envisage such a draconian inspection system if the genetically modified organisms are tightly controlled and unlikely to escape into the general population and who will own the progeny of any modified organisms if they do? whttps://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/6/pdfs/ukpga_20230006_en.pdf

Simon S
Simon S
1 year ago
Reply to  Nicola Keane

He didn’t have much choice in signing it…

Linda Hutchinson
Linda Hutchinson
1 year ago
Reply to  Simon S

Actually, he does have a choice, but to not sign would cause massive constitutional ructions.

Linda Hutchinson
Linda Hutchinson
1 year ago
Reply to  Simon S

Actually, he does have a choice, but to not sign would cause massive constitutional ructions.

Phil Rees
Phil Rees
1 year ago
Reply to  Nicola Keane

Good heaves, you seem to believe that the king signing into law some act or other has any connection with his personal beliefs. It does not and constitutionally cannot!

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Phil Rees

Why not? Don’t most people believe what they sign.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Phil Rees

Why not? Don’t most people believe what they sign.

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Nicola Keane

Because if an organic farm is right next to a non-organic one, the seeds can blow to the organic farm and the farmer is screwed.

Simon S
Simon S
1 year ago
Reply to  Nicola Keane

He didn’t have much choice in signing it…

Phil Rees
Phil Rees
1 year ago
Reply to  Nicola Keane

Good heaves, you seem to believe that the king signing into law some act or other has any connection with his personal beliefs. It does not and constitutionally cannot!

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago
Reply to  Nicola Keane

Because if an organic farm is right next to a non-organic one, the seeds can blow to the organic farm and the farmer is screwed.

Nicola Keane
Nicola Keane
1 year ago

Let’s not pretend that Charles is on a lonely and misunderstood mission to promote organic and small scale farming when one of his first acts was to sign into law the Genetic Technology Act 2023. Whatever one thinks of the safety, benefits or otherwise of genetic modification in food and animals, this kind of of GM is a massive commercial opportunity which Charles, being one of our largest landowners will likely understand and exploit. Genuine question – Why does this Act envisage such a draconian inspection system if the genetically modified organisms are tightly controlled and unlikely to escape into the general population and who will own the progeny of any modified organisms if they do? whttps://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/6/pdfs/ukpga_20230006_en.pdf

LCarey Rowland
LCarey Rowland
1 year ago

God save the Green King, as God saved his grandfather, George VI, whose coronation in May, 1937, provided the setting for my novel, Smoke.

LCarey Rowland
LCarey Rowland
1 year ago

God save the Green King, as God saved his grandfather, George VI, whose coronation in May, 1937, provided the setting for my novel, Smoke.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago

I trust that Westminster Abbey has been properly ‘swept’. We wouldn’t want a repeat of the The Grand Hotel, Brighton would we?

Robbie K
Robbie K
1 year ago

I was in Westminster last week and there were more police than tourists. Sniffer dogs too.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Robbie K

So were there at Brighton.

However perhaps an 81mm mortar fired from say Tower Hamlets might be more effective?

Or even a prehistoric RPG7 from across Green Park?

Either way it would replicate the spirit of the infamous 11th century Assassins.

Last edited 1 year ago by Charles Stanhope
Steve Murray
Steve Murray
1 year ago

By the way, i’ve replied to your comment regarding town halls in the “How Europe Can Defend itself” article.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Steve Murray

Thank you.
That explains it, because our ‘medieval’ Town Halls are not much to shout about.

However I can now understand why the FĂŒhrer coveted Rochdale.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Steve Murray

Thank you.
That explains it, because our ‘medieval’ Town Halls are not much to shout about.

However I can now understand why the FĂŒhrer coveted Rochdale.

Nicky Samengo-Turner
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago

Trouble is with the 81, is that you have to bed in the base plate with a couple of bombs first!!! gives the posi away!

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago

Not in Tower Hamlets for obvious reasons!

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago

Not in Tower Hamlets for obvious reasons!

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago

Brighton, eh? Say no more.

Steve Murray
Steve Murray
1 year ago

By the way, i’ve replied to your comment regarding town halls in the “How Europe Can Defend itself” article.

Nicky Samengo-Turner
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago

Trouble is with the 81, is that you have to bed in the base plate with a couple of bombs first!!! gives the posi away!

Clare Knight
Clare Knight
1 year ago

Brighton, eh? Say no more.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago
Reply to  Robbie K

So were there at Brighton.

However perhaps an 81mm mortar fired from say Tower Hamlets might be more effective?

Or even a prehistoric RPG7 from across Green Park?

Either way it would replicate the spirit of the infamous 11th century Assassins.

Last edited 1 year ago by Charles Stanhope
Ethniciodo Rodenydo
Ethniciodo Rodenydo
1 year ago

Why the ?

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago

No comprende!

Ethniciodo Rodenydo
Ethniciodo Rodenydo
1 year ago

We wouldn’t want a repeat of the The Grand Hotel, Brighton would we?

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
1 year ago