Another Historic Year Awaits the British Royal Family

With Queen Elizabeth's passing just months after she marked her record-breaking seventh decade as monarch, the last year will be remembered as one of the most seismic in the British royal family's history, but 2023 could be almost as significant.

Elizabeth celebrated her 70th year on the throne in February, breaking nearly every monarchic record in a lineage that dates back 1,000 years to the Norman invasion of England. Four days of national festivities were held in early June as a result.

But there were indicators that the 96-year-health old's was deteriorating already. She started to make fewer public appearances and only showed up for a few of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The only monarch that the majority of Britons had ever known—and who much of the rest of the world also referred to as "the Queen"—died at her Scottish residence on September 8, barely two days after being photographed naming her 15th prime minister. According to the official certificate, old age was the reason for death.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

In the modern era, only France's King Louis XIV, who passed away in 1715, came close to matching Elizabeth's duration as the head of a major state. Elizabeth had interacted with nearly every significant worldwide personality since World War Two.

It marked the end of an era for her family as well as her country. In accordance with one of Elizabeth's last intentions, her son Charles III assumed the throne automatically, and Camilla, his second wife, was named queen consort.

Giving the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales to his eldest son and heir William and his wife Kate, a position formerly held by the late Princess Diana, was one of the new monarch's first acts as the 41st ruler since William the Conqueror.

Elizabeth had succeeded in bringing the monarchy up to date while surviving the several crises that her family experienced. However, there are some ominous clouds looming over the institution as it prepares for a time without her.

The coffin of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign's orb and sceptre, is followed by members of the royal family as it is brought out of Westminster Abbey following her State Funeral on September 19, 2022, in London, Britain. Danny Lawson/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

On June 2, 2022, during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee festivities in London, Britain, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, along with Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, emerge on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

On September 14, 2022, the procession carrying Queen Elizabeth's coffin from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament takes place in London, Britain. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Pool/File Photo.

Following the departure of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, and William, Prince of Wales, walk outside Windsor Castle in Windsor, Britain, on September 10, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge/File Photo

At Balmoral Castle in Scotland, Britain's Queen Elizabeth waits in the drawing room before welcoming Liz Truss for an audience, where she urged the recently elected Conservative party leader to become prime minister and create a new administration. Six September 2022. Jane Barlow/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

The day of Queen Elizabeth's state funeral and burial, September 19, 2022, in London, Britain, the casket is brought out of Westminster Abbey following a liturgy. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool

IMPLICATIONS FOR 2023

Prince Andrew, brother of Charles, is still considered persona non grata despite having resolved a sex assault lawsuit in the United States. Additionally, there are concerns about and a police investigation into claims that money was paid to Charles' organizations in exchange for honors.

The rift with Prince Harry, the youngest son of Charles, and his wife Meghan, who now reside in California, is the most devastating of all, as is their criticism of the royal family.

Harry's memoir, "Spare," which the publisher describes as having "raw, unflinching honesty," is released on January 10.

The institution was shaken by Harry and Meghan's appearance with American talk show host Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, and the royal family will be watching the book closely to see if there are any more unpleasant disclosures.

King Charles' coronation, a solemn and religious ceremony presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, will be the year's main focal point event. It will only be the second wedding to be broadcast on television after his mother's in 1953, and it will feature pageantry and centuries-old customs.

The ceremony will be pared back, though, since the royals are careful not to appear to be putting on an extravagantly expensive display of grandeur given that Britain is stuck in a cost-of-living crisis. William also doesn't intend to be legally invested as the Prince of Wales in a lavish ceremony like his father did in 1969.

Charles, 74, will be proclaimed king of 14 nations, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, in addition to Britain. However, numerous Caribbean nations, including Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, and the Bahamas, have said they want to do away with the monarch as head of state.

Whether Charles' coronation, family conflicts, or a flight of his domains dominate 2023, it will probably establish the tone for his reign.

Source: Reuters