# The reign of King Charles III of the United Kingdom **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 8, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232 "2022-09-08T18:05:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 45
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/884 "2023-05-24T17:25:57Z")
I understand that, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/885 "2023-05-25T17:58:59Z")
They are seeking to defend the principle that ‘rich people should not be able to buy a layer of protection denied to poor people (i.e. guns) merely by opting in to paying for it’. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/886 "2023-05-27T20:22:33Z")
And of course fucking John Oliver had to go on a rant about Charles being the issue of cousins marrying. He has gone too many times to that well, especially when you consider ER2 and Phillip were **3rd** cousins (a couple times removed, also.) Most people in America dont even know who their 3rd cousins are (I dont, but I know a couple of 2nd cousins), and in insular areas many people likely have married a distant cousin without knowing it. Hell, it is not impossible that Oliver’s parents were also distant cousins. That would be hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/887 "2023-05-27T23:44:50Z")
I have to say that when I first moved from a big coastal US city to a small city in the US Midwest I thought everybody looked like their 2nd cousin 5th-inbred. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2023, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/888 "2023-05-28T17:13:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And of course fucking John Oliver had to go on a rant about Charles being the issue of cousins marrying. Well…I agree, 3rd cousins doesn’t mean much in a general sense and taken in isolation. But as a family generally they do have rather more pedigree collapse than the average bear. I mean comments like “the royal family’s wealth, unlike their gene pool, is massive” may be mean (as well as funny) and even exaggerated, but they do contain a grain of truth. But then I despise constitutional monarchies on principle, so I tend to think John Oliver’s mockery of them is a sound public service. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2023, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/889 "2023-05-28T19:45:47Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > But then I despise constitutional monarchies on principle, so I tend to think John Oliver’s mockery of them is a sound public service. However, they do a valuable service. A great deal of the presidents time is doing ceremonial or public duties- cutting ribbons, attending funerals, etc. The Monarch does all that. And sure, attack the idea of a King if you like, but he has done that same cousin joke too many times. For all intents and purposes, a 3rd cousin several times removed is not a relative at all. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/890 "2023-05-28T21:48:50Z")
> **[Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed for July 22, 1982 | GoComics.com](https://www.gocomics.com/bloomcounty/1982/07/22/)** > > July 22, 1982 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/891 "2023-05-29T13:10:55Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > However, they do a valuable service. A great deal of the presidents time is doing ceremonial or public duties- cutting ribbons, attending funerals, etc. The Monarch does all that. So do elected presidents, like Ireland’s. > [@DrDeth](#): > > but he has done that same cousin joke too many times. It will never not be funny, either. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/892 "2023-06-02T14:12:04Z")
Don’t expect this lawsuit to get too far: > **[US court to hear challenge over Prince Harry's visa following drug revelations...](https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/01/us/prince-harry-court-hearing-drug-visa-scli-intl/index.html)** > > Prince Harry’s US immigration records should be unsealed in the light of revelations about drug-taking in his recent book, a conservative think tank will argue in a federal court next week. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2023, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/893 "2023-06-03T17:16:24Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > However, they do a valuable service. A great deal of the presidents time is doing ceremonial or public duties- cutting ribbons, attending funerals, etc. The Monarch does all that. That’s A definition of the term “valuable”, I don’t know if it’s the way most people use the term though. > [@DrDeth](#): > > And sure, attack the idea of a King if you like, but he has done that same cousin joke too many times. And Charles has ruled for too long based on the simple fact that his great great great… great grandpa was real good at killing people. > [@MrDibble](#): > > So do elected presidents, like Ireland’s. And without the disgusting implications that a hereditary monarchy has. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/894 "2023-06-03T17:21:32Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > And Charles has ruled for too long based on the simple fact that his great great great… great grandpa was real good at killing people. Rather, the simple fact that his position as monarch is based on laws passed by the British Parliament. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/895 "2023-06-03T17:33:33Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > And Charles has ruled for too long based on the simple fact that his great great great… great grandpa was real good at killing people. I don’t think any of his ancestors were particularly _good_ at that. His 15×great-grandfather, Henry VII, slew his 16×great-grandfather’s brother, Richard III, which did move the kingship to that line, but in general their prediliction for killing wasn’t the best path to the throne. In any case, the number of people that share his murderous ancestors is staggering. The only reason it’s Charles and not someone with the same bloodlines is primogeniture. It’s not based on descent, but on descent via the eldest male line (50% change of that changing late in the century, depending on what children Prince George has, if any). I only bring that up because it’s an even more arbitrary “qualification” than simple descent from the previous monarch. The only benefit I can see is that if you know who it’s going to be while they’re still a child, you can train them up, but I agree that actual qualifications would be better. I never thought much about Queen Elizabeth as our head of state, partly because I didn’t grow up in Canada, but the thought that I have an actual king feels decidedly archaic. I’m sure unconscious sexism is part of that, too: why should a king feel more medieval than a queen? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/896 "2023-06-03T19:24:39Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > why should a king feel more medieval than a queen? Maybe because there was a queen for _such_ a long time? I was only a few months old when Liz became queen, and I’m _old_. A king seems more unfamiliar and therefore more archaic? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/897 "2023-06-03T20:08:36Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > And Charles has ruled for too long based on the simple fact that his great great great… great grandpa was real good at killing people. Charles has never ruled. No Monarch has ruled in the UK since 1689 or so. Charles reigns. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Rather, the simple fact that his position as monarch is based on laws passed by the British Parliament. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2023, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/898 "2023-06-03T20:51:09Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > …I only bring that up because it’s an even more arbitrary “qualification” than simple descent from the previous monarch. The only benefit I can see is that if you know who it’s going to be while they’re still a child, you can train them up…. Back in the day, having a clearly-established and widely-accepted line of succession meant you were less likely to have, y’know, _wars_ and shit. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/899 "2023-06-03T21:23:34Z")
Quite right. But in most of the civilized world we now have more sophisticated techniques to prevent local warlordism. I don’t have a dog in the ceremonial monarchy fight, but I generally hold that it’s an idea whose time has passed, but that will probably dodder on in zombie-like form for another generation or two before keeling over for good. IMO King Charles III is not the final monarch of the UK and associated realms. But the final such monarch _may_ already be born. The other ceremonial royals of other nations might outlast that of the UK _et al_, or might not. Cogent arguments can be made either way, but IMO those various timelines will be highly contingent on the specifics of country, personality, and external pressures. Which are so highly contingent 50 to 150 years hence as to be completely unpredictable. The currently active action on the useful-forms-of-government front is to push tyrants of all stripes onto the ash heap of history for good. That’s taking longer than we thought. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/900 "2023-06-03T21:48:29Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I don’t have a dog in the ceremonial monarchy fight, but I generally hold that it’s an idea whose time has passed, but that will probably dodder on in zombie-like form for another generation or two before keeling over for good. IMO King Charles III is not the final monarch of the UK and associated realms. But the final such monarch _may_ already be born. Do you have any idea of how much the Royals bring in tourism money? Just the Coronation brought in over $400M usd. The Royals overall bring in about $2Billion per year. So they free up the PM, and bring in scads of badly needed foreign funds. Overall a big win-win. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/901 "2023-06-03T22:14:36Z")
Hard numbers are a bit difficult to locate, and COVID has turned everything topsy turvy recently, but Disneyand Paris generates on the order of 2-3billion Euros of tourism every year over in France. And has not in fact been all that profitable a venture for many of the ~30 years since it opened. It has had some excellent eras and some lackluster ones. Immediately pre-COVID things were looking pretty good, and now post-COVID the recover portends more of the same. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/902 "2023-06-04T02:43:42Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > The only reason it’s Charles and not someone with the same bloodlines is primogeniture As modified by laws passed by the English, Scottish and British Parliaments between 1688 and 1707. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/903 "2023-06-05T00:10:13Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Do you have any idea of how much the Royals bring in tourism money? Just the Coronation brought in over $400M usd. The Royals overall bring in about $2Billion per year. [Across the channel, a couple of mice in a fake castle bring in more.](https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinereid/2023/03/28/disneyland-paris-reports-record-26-billion-revenue/amp/) And no one has to pretend that Mickey was hand picked by God to reign over France. Eta: I see that @LSLGuy beat me to this point… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232.md?page=44) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232.md?page=46)