Conspiracy theories and shocking statements: what will be remembered for the first year of the reign of Charles III

Exactly a year ago, the coronation of Charles III took place. Since his official ascension to the throne, many events have occurred that have influenced the image of the royal family, and, according to some journalists and biographers, even indicate a “crisis in the British monarchy.”

The reign of Charles III began quite well: in fact, he took over royal duties back in September 2022, after the death of Elizabeth II. A year later, in the fall of 2023, an article was published on the BBC website that the first year of the king’s reign was “more about stability and confidence than about change and reform.” “The year surprised me in that it surprised me with practically nothing. People quickly got used to the new king,” royal family expert Pauline Maclaran said at the time. In an interview with the BBC, most experts assessed the first year as rather successful. Now, based on the results of the 12 months that have passed since the coronation, this period certainly cannot be called calm for the king and his family.

Supporters and opponents

As for public opinion polls, at the end of the year of his reign, Charles III, as the media wrote, “turned out to be unexpectedly popular.” As of September 2023, a majority of Britons - 62% - believed the country should remain a monarchy and supported the king. It is noteworthy that among young people aged 18 to 24, only 37% shared this opinion. In this age group, 40% said they would like to have the opportunity to elect the ruler of the state. In February 2024, the king’s rating was even higher than last year: 66% of the population assessed his activities positively.

In YouGov's ranking of the popularity of members of the royal family, Charles III is now in fifth place. The first place remains with the late Queen Elizabeth II, followed by Duchess Catherine, Prince William and the king's sister, Princess Anne.

At the same time, protests against Charles III are not uncommon: on the day of the coronation, hundreds of people wearing yellow T-shirts with the inscription “Not my king” gathered in central London and shouted appropriate slogans. Then the police even made arrests: more than 50 protesters were arrested.

Both before and after the new king's ascension to the throne, the public had questions about the royal family. Basically, according to historian Heather Jones, they relate to “the transparency of royal finances.” “People spend a lot of money on maintaining this institute. At the moment this is a weak point,” the professor believes. Over the past months, questions regarding finances have become even more numerous, but more on that later.

News about the disease

Over the past year, the public has learned several disturbing news related to the royal family. First of all, this is the news of the illness of the king himself. In February 2024, it was officially announced that Charles III had cancer. As stated in a statement from Buckingham Palace, due to undergoing treatment he will refrain from public events, but is “positive” and is looking forward to returning to royal duties.

The type of cancer Carl was diagnosed with has not been disclosed. Earlier, in January, he was treated for a benign prostate enlargement and underwent surgery. Now they write that Charles III is ready for public appearances, since the treatment is going well.

Operation Menai Bridge

However, recently the press started talking about the fact that in fact the king’s health does not inspire optimism. Moreover, according to Daily Beast insiders, the palace is working on updating a plan codenamed “Operation Menai Bridge.” This is a project for organizing funerals and other mourning events in the event of the death of a ruler. The existence of such a plan is not a secret; the same was in effect in relation to Elizabeth II, it was called "Operation London Bridge". This document determines who and in what order should learn about the death of the monarch, how the news will be reported to the press, when mourning events will begin, and so on.

The level of anxiety was increased by publications that Prince William and Duchess Catherine were allegedly worried about the fact that they would have to ascend to the throne earlier than they had hoped. Journalist Tina Brown, writing for The New York Times, suggests that the couple hoped to focus on raising children for several years, but now the immediate future is in doubt.

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The disappearance of Kate Middleton and her diagnosis

It has also been a difficult year for the couple themselves, who recently celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary. Kate Middleton underwent abdominal surgery earlier this year, after which she disappeared from the public eye, giving rise to many conspiracy theories. A variety of rumors began to circulate - from versions of banal plastic surgery to terrible suggestions that the duchess was no longer alive at all. The palace’s attempts to “present” Kate alive and well to the public turned out to be a failure. In her “official” portrait with her children, excessive photoshop was discovered, and in the video and photos allegedly taken by the paparazzi, the duchess could not be identified.

As a result, Duchess Catherine made a video message to the public in which she announced that she had been diagnosed with cancer. The video caused a wave of new rumors: some doubted its authenticity, while others saw signs of neural network interference in the video. The public is waiting for the Duchess to appear before the public live, and not in video.

Confrontation with Prince Harry

So far, apparently, there has been no significant warming in relations between Charles III and his youngest son. Although in March, a source told People magazine that upon learning of his father's diagnosis, Prince Harry immediately flew from the US to the UK to visit him. The insider called this a small step towards reconciliation, despite the fact that the meeting lasted only 45 minutes. Harry has not seen Prince William: there is still a serious conflict between the brothers. According to insiders, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle learned about Duchess Catherine’s illness from the news, and not from family members. As biographers say, Charles III hopes for the reconciliation of his sons, but does not particularly count on it. Let us remember that the relationship between the brothers completely deteriorated after the release of the Duke of Sussex’s memoirs “Spare” and the premiere of the Netflix documentary in which Markle criticized the royal family.

This fall another scandal broke out. It turned out that it was Charles III, as well as Kate Middleton, who had Meghan Markle in mind when talking about racist comments in the palace. Allegedly, the king and duchess are precisely the people who discussed what skin color the unborn child of Prince Harry and Meghan would have. The former actress previously spoke about this in a sensational interview with Oprah Winfrey, but did not name names.

The fact that he and Meghan continue to use the titles of Dukes of Sussex does not help strengthen Harry's relationship with his relatives. So, a couple of months ago, the couple launched a new website, Sussex.com, and, as insiders say, “if there is even the slightest hint of commercialization, it will be cancelled.”

Financial scandal

In November, The Guardian published an investigation, the authors of which stated that Charles III and Elizabeth II embezzled money from deceased citizens. This is possible thanks to an ancient custom that has been in effect since feudal times in some areas of Great Britain: the assets of people who did not leave a will or have no heirs (they are called bona vacantia) go to the king through the Duchy of Lancaster. In other regions of the country, this money is transferred to the treasury, which then spends it on government needs.

Journalists have calculated that these assets have brought Charles III and Queen Elizabeth II about £1.2 billion over the past 70 years. Karl himself claimed that these funds were allocated to charity. According to the publication, the money was “secretly spent” on the restoration and renovation of real estate owned by the monarchs.

The Guardian subsequently published a story about the angry reaction from readers under the headline "It's time to get rid of the British feudal system that allows monarchs to rob the dead."

Fake news about death

In March, the king himself was declared dead: a fake statement from Buckingham Palace about the sudden death of the ruler immediately spread across Russian telegram channels and the media. The “document” looked quite convincing, but there were no announcements either on the palace website or in official accounts. The news continued to be circulated until it was refuted: first, the British Embassy in Ukraine did this on the X network, and then Buckingham Palace told the Russian TASS agency that Charles III did not die.

The Huffington Post wrote that the source of the fake news could not be identified, but among the major channels, Baza and Mash were the first to release the information, followed by Vedomosti and other media outlets. Immediately after the official denial, all news portals published an update.

Crisis of the monarchy?

Following this year's stories, particularly Kate's high-profile disappearance, The Cut published an article entitled "Royal Family Crisis" with the subheading: "Kate Middleton's disappearance is more than just a tabloid sensation. It's a sign of the monarchy's growing instability." British journalist Tanya Gold reflects in an article that without Charles III and Kate, who have temporarily left their duties for health reasons, “the royal family is deprived of two of its most charismatic representatives.”

Gold, even a staunch anti-monarchist, pays tribute to Elizabeth II, who, according to her, remained a powerful "witch-goddess" in the eyes of the public until her death. "She was one of a kind. Those who came after her are less tough and less sane. She was probably the last person in Britain who believed in a holy monarchy, and it is quite possible that she took it with her when she left ". Today's monarchs, as the journalist put it, "are unhappy, angry, sick, like the people they nominally rule."

People magazine also published a publication stating that recent events are an indicator of instability in the royal family, which never existed under Elizabeth II. “Uncertainty is always worrisome, and there is too much uncertainty around the monarchy right now,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith told the publication. She criticized the palace for failing to stop the flow of rumors surrounding Charles III's illness and Catherine's disappearance. “The Queen said, ‘People have to see me to believe me.’ Charles and his circle would do well to learn that,” Smith said.