# Why don't Brits want King Charles III (or will it be King George VII?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 29, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-brits-want-king-charles-iii-or-will-it-be-king-george-vii/562326 "2010-11-29T21:25:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-brits-want-king-charles-iii-or-will-it-be-king-george-vii/562326/181 "2010-12-10T16:18:32Z")
> [@villa](#): > > the grovelling servitude shown to the Windors Who actually does this? The prevailing attitude towards the royals as far as I can tell is “tolerant bemusement” and/or “bemused tolerance”, at least in my peer group. Whenever one of them makes the news there’s always a round of “why are the media talking about them as if we care?” and “well, at least we’re getting a bank holiday out of it” and then everyone goes back to not caring about them any more. Who actually shows grovelling servitude to the Windsors? Tabloids don’t count. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-brits-want-king-charles-iii-or-will-it-be-king-george-vii/562326/182 "2010-12-10T16:56:46Z")
Why don’t tabloids count? ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-brits-want-king-charles-iii-or-will-it-be-king-george-vii/562326/183 "2010-12-10T17:00:44Z")
Because they’re businesses trying to make money, not individuals expressing honest opinions. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-brits-want-king-charles-iii-or-will-it-be-king-george-vii/562326/184 "2010-12-10T17:04:25Z")
I think the fact that they can make money this way is the point. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-brits-want-king-charles-iii-or-will-it-be-king-george-vii/562326/185 "2010-12-10T17:05:36Z")
But their readers, like my step mother, are the ones who exhibit grovelling servitude. The genuine grief shown when some over-privileged clothes horse bimbo died in a drunk driving accident is a pretty good indicator, too. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-brits-want-king-charles-iii-or-will-it-be-king-george-vii/562326/186 "2010-12-10T18:22:08Z")
That clothes-horse bimbo was rather well loved the world over for her philanthropic work. Granted, an accident of marriage made her famous, but she used her powers for good. Also, I had a fuckin’ huge thing for her back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-brits-want-king-charles-iii-or-will-it-be-king-george-vii/562326/187 "2010-12-10T21:07:44Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > I love that picture of Chuck & Cam. > > Really, though, it’s not like he’s to blame for the LibTory austerity measures. He was just caught in a riot. No the measures were not his fault. However his decision to be driven in an opulent car through a city where there are ongoing protests and riots indicates he doesn’t have a clue about what is going on in his country and/or has extreanly poor judgement. Given that the rich and wealthy are largely (fairly or unfairly) viewed as the cause of the troubles that require the austerity measures, makes the decision to be out and about with the trappings of undeserved wealth even more foolish. The Met senior police office was praising the restraint shown by the royal protection officers, as if people should be grateful that the RPOs did not go apeshit Gengis Khan on the protestors. If the RPOs had been doing their job they would have told the dumbarse to take a different car and go to his theater appointment in a low key fashion. Poor judgement and being apparently unaware or unconcerned of what is happening in the country do not help his popularity. PCM (British , expat and wishes the Royal family would just bugger off, it is 2010) ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-brits-want-king-charles-iii-or-will-it-be-king-george-vii/562326/188 "2010-12-11T17:56:36Z")
So, it’s Chuck’s fault, because he’s rich, propertied, & didn’t go out in a rusty old Volkswagen? Do you know how much wealth the Windsors have given up to the state? You want to blame someone on class grounds, go after the propertied “common” gentry–you know, Cameron’s class. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-brits-want-king-charles-iii-or-will-it-be-king-george-vii/562326/189 "2010-12-11T22:49:47Z")
Has that doofus who was repeatedly calling “Off with their heads” during the attack on the car been charged? ---
**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:** [December 12, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-brits-want-king-charles-iii-or-will-it-be-king-george-vii/562326/190 "2010-12-12T01:03:01Z")
Another thread that may be of interest, re: if Queen Victoria had died early in her reign: [If Queen Victoria had died early - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=588942) ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-brits-want-king-charles-iii-or-will-it-be-king-george-vii/562326/191 "2010-12-12T17:17:27Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I would second (or third) the praise of the British political satire _To Play the King_. But be sure to see the first series, _House of Cards_, before you do. Very good stuff. The third, _The Final Cut_, isn’t nearly as good, IMHO, alas. > > There is opposition to Charles for a number of reasons: many still see him as having been an ogre in his dealings with Diana (not that she was perfect herself) by having an affair with his current wife while both were married to other people, and in not properly supporting Diana as she struggled with the demands of her new life in the Royal Family; the intercepted cellphone calls where he said he wanted to be Camilla’s tampon did not reflect well on him, to say the least; his forays into criticism of modern architecture and advocacy of green agriculture have been semi-political, and have rubbed some people the wrong way; a few years ago there was a controversy when he was quoted as saying, in essence, that the British people should know their place and shouldn’t aspire to a higher social status. That and behind-the-Palace-scenes gossip about having a valet put toothpaste on his toothbrush, talking to his plants, etc. hasn’t helped him. Plus William is simply a younger, more dynamic man. For a public with a short attention span in a 24/7 news environment, he’s “new and improved.” Have you any factual, as opposed to tabloid BS, cites for the things that you’ve posted ? Particulary the tripe about the British people “needing to know their place etc. etc” That and Diana “not being perfect herself”,which I find to be an almost comical understatement. Charlie has never,ever said that the Brits need to know their place. Do tell us Brits where you’ve obtained this very silly piece of dreck from ,we all like a good laugh from time to time. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-brits-want-king-charles-iii-or-will-it-be-king-george-vii/562326/192 "2010-12-12T17:36:53Z")
Lots of Brits read the tabloids, whether or not they’re accurate, and perception can of course become reality. These stories allude to Charles’s remarks about social mobility (and suggest that they were, indeed, misinterpreted); I haven’t been able to find a story directly about the remarks themselves. The first story refers to other controversies, as well: > **[If you really want to kick away the ladder of social mobility, you](https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/bruce-anderson/if-you-really-want-to-kick-away-the-ladder-of-social-mobility-you-have-to-be-in-government-534121.html)** > > Prince Charles is the most important public intellectual since the heyday of Sir Keith Joseph > **[BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | The rise of the meritocracy](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4035181.stm)** > > In the fallout over Charles' controversial memo on ambition and opportunity, onlookers have debated just how meritocratic British society really is. Unfortunately, they can't even agree on a definition of the word. The OP asked why some people don’t want Charles to take the Throne. I was trying to answer. I didn’t say these are good reasons, or even persuasive reasons, but IME they _are_ the reasons typically given, right or wrong. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-brits-want-king-charles-iii-or-will-it-be-king-george-vii/562326.md?page=9)