THE MAKING OF A KING

A deft mixture of reportage, history, and prediction, this first look at the early days of Charles III’s reign is both an authoritative guide and savory catnip for royal watchers.

Hardman, the well-known chronicler of the House of Windsor (Queen of Our Times, Her Majesty, etc.), predictably opens with a review of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and of the extravagant funeral that followed her death. Then the author moves on to Charles’ early command of the royal household, coronation, and initial acts and decisions. For many readers, the book’s greatest contribution will be what Hardman reveals about the structure, operations, norms, and responsibilities of kingship today. Yes, we learn a great deal about the the royal family and its members, but the author also provides inside looks at the kingdom’s Privileged Bodies, the 27 “illustrious institutions” of which the monarch is head, and of the numerous other bureaus, offices, and office-holders many of us may not know. Hardman shows a king impatient with many ancient rituals and, less traditionalist than his mother, already at work to trim them, and he offers a sober forecast about the three principle issues that will require Charles’ attention in the coming years—race relations at home, the future relationship of his overseas realms to the mother country, and anti-monarchism within Britain—all competing for attention with the king’s long personal involvement in environmental issues. The author demonstrates his unique access to a wide range of people, and he sympathetically portrays Charles as an intelligent, engaged, serious, and well-informed man whose reign, he argues, has already shown him to be “authentic.” Central to the narrative is the author’s sense that Charles, determined to open up the monarchy and reduce its size and cost, will reign with “informal formality.”

A deeply sourced, delightful introduction to the newest British king.