It finally happened. After 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II, your Head of State, has passed. In what will go down as one of the biggest events of this decade, after the passing of one of the most extraordinary lives that transcended generations, I think we were all left thinking, “well, what now?” The answer to that question is much deeper than what you’d initially expect. A new king and a weakening royal family make for an exciting recipe for this new era of the monarchy. But why?
It pays to start with a bit of a look at our new sovereign, King Charles III. He takes the crown, pun intended, as the oldest ever heir apparent to take on the throne at 73. Back in the day, his popularity was bolstered by his first wife, Princess Diana, a familiar name. But after divorcing, publicly admitting to cheating on her with his current wife Camilia, naughty phone calls being leaked (which I will never recover from after hearing), and Diana’s eventual death, Charlie became public enemy number one. While this target on his head slowly became smaller, it took a while for it to truly diminish in the public eye. For some it still hasn’t. However, the new king has attempted an almighty comeback most notably with his charity work which equates to $190 million NZD a year. He’s also been a pretty inclusive bloke with his insistence on the title ‘Defender of Faith’ rather than ‘Defender of the [Anglican] Faith’, a name that’ll see him take on being a protector of all religions. What this will actually change, apart from the sentiment of the title, I do not know. But it’s nice, right? Despite this, I think what shows him best, as a completely different figure from all his predecessors, is his emotion. Royals are stoic figures, who cannot let personal opinion get in the way of their duty, so much so that the very crack of a smile from Queen Elizabeth II would make headline news. Yet, as I watched King Charles shed a tear talking about the passing of his mother, it made me realise it could simply be his very humanity that separates him from the rest.
Still, it’s no secret that his family, the Royal Family, are in absolute shambles, and it all seems as if too much is going on for them. Prince Andrew hung out with a paedophile. Harry and his wife have left their duties. Claims were being made that the royal family were scared “how dark his skin might be” when talking about Harry’s new son. I know, who would’ve known that the Royal Family, with their glimmering past, were racist? Now, as their one piece of stability has died, the monarchy in Britain is left in a rather unstable position and it’s now how King Charles responds that decides their fate. If you’re a royalist, you hate it. If you’re not, well then you adore this opportunity.
The first step for King Charles is to replace the anchor-shaped hole that his mother left in the royal family, which is clearly not an easy feat; he needs his family to be seen positively in the public eye. But there’s something bigger, something much bigger. With a frail crown and a keen eye on independence, countries that have King Charles as their new head of state may begin to start a stronger pull away as the consistent force that was holding onto them has become a bit weaker. Look, we haven’t necessarily kept it quiet. Helen Clark, John Key, and Jacinda Ardern all believe New Zealand is on a path where the only exit is republicanism. These opinions aren’t unpopular, they reflect an all too common thought in the beehive. As New Zealanders, we proudly view ourselves as an independent country. However, this admittedly conceited view does not line up with having a head of state, simply chosen by blood, who lives in a palace 18,000km away, who had not even paid us a visit for 20 years before her passing. Instead, despite being able to travel, we got her B team: her grandchildren. Albeit big names, but not the lady that is supposed to be in charge of us. When you analyse it like this, it begins to feel that maybe, just maybe, our monarch didn’t care about us as a true leader would’ve. It all comes down to if King Charles will.
As one of the very few countries in the world that does not have a codified constitution, this transition could be a lot easier than our mates across the ditch who’ll be trying to finally beat us in something. It would lead to a clean slate for many founding documents, most prominently Te Tiriti o Waitangi, a treaty between tangata whenua and the Crown. There’s a lot of hope by some that because of this, there’ll be a change in the way our governing body treats our indigenous people.
There’s a lot to weigh up, as expected, when making such a huge constitutional decision like this in a country. As nice as these switches in our political system can sound, once the cogs start to shift it becomes a lot more difficult. There’s a lot of things to change, from the large to the minute: a new national head of state, new passports, currency, and maybe even a new flag. The list is more extensive as from the moment we became a colony of the United Kingdom, they began to leave their imprint on us. A recent poll also suggests that perhaps our population isn’t quite ready, with 48 percent saying they don’t want a change, 36.4 percent saying they do, and 15.6 percent saying they don’t quite know (and who can blame them?). Despite their harming hiccups through history, we don’t see a Crown that’s hated here; they’re actually loved by many- including my Mum. This is reflected in our PM recently saying she doesn’t see a shift away “as a short-term measure or anything that is on the agenda any time soon.” Simply, it’s not looking like you can expect an authentic Tui drinking, gum boot wearing Kiwi as your president this time tomorrow.
All of his mother’s work, and his own past, has led the newly dubbed King Charles III to quite a unique set of cards to play. It’s in my opinion that if he plays them right, with a secure family and genuine care for the country he looks over, this guy will pull it off. I have a lot of hope for him as a King, and you should too.
Kupu mā Kaiwāwāhi Matua
As our country comes to grips with the passing of our longest reigning Monarch, we’ve reached a crossroads in an attempt to seek a common resolution in our thoughts. Which is kind of like trying to find an agreement between a conservative and a socialist liberal, I’m sure there’s a mutual understanding but I’m struggling to find it. But what does the demise mean for a kōrero about separation of the person from the legacy, how do we acknowledge the events while also honouring a life.
Throughout the past week, the notion that we shouldn’t discuss politics has become more apparent as some fear we’ve deterred from the end of an important figurehead’s life. Somehow we can’t discuss the wrong doings without demeaning the name of the Nations Grandmother – load of bollocks. It’s important that kōrero doesn’t steer from the important matter at hand – what the fuck is everyone in the commonwealth going to do next?
What does this mean for Ireland’s reunification? What will Scotland make of the matter? Does this mean Aotearoa will become free, handing whenue back to Māori people? All questions that leave us in limbo as we scramble for some semblance on what to do. Sure King Charles III will move into the role without a hitch, but this circumstance allows for change, if wanted, to be created in the face of a new age. Legally speaking there is no change to our constitutional situation. In Aotearoa the successor to the sovereign automatically becomes our new King or Queen. Parliament continues and current appointments made by the Governor-General remain in place. Though that doesn’t mean we should be complacent and not challenge the constitution.
We can honour the life of Queen Elizabeth while also acknowledging the chaos that is being left in her wake. We can also discuss the possibility of countries leaving the commonwealth without starting a panicked hush of “She’s not even cold yet” The kōrero isn’t about her as some evil overlord but rather what happens next, and I don’t know the simplest answer. Aotearoa is a melting pot of mixed views, those royalists and some who can’t wait for the eventual demise of the crown, but we need to look at what works best for us as a country and move forward accordingly. He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata
