Prince William could make big changes to the Monarchy including altering some royal traditions like the Coronation but some people will be surprised at the way he alters things.
That’s the view of a leading historian who says the Prince of Wales is a reformer, rather than a radical, and the first indication of that could be his own Coronation.
Speaking on ‘The Royal Beat – Back in Time’ on True Royalty TV, Gareth Russell said ”I think he will navigate the difficulty of the coronation in a way people won’t expect. And what I mean by that is, I think he is a reformer. I don’t think he’s a radical in the way some people hope he will be or fear that he will.”
William’s likely style of reign is down to one person, according to Gareth Russell and that’s Queen Elizabeth II. He said ” I think one of the things that will really shape William as King, is that he was essentially tutored by Elizabeth II and he does have this sort of modernising, quite reformist spirit from his mother.”
The Royal Beat, presented by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, looks at Coronations over the course of almost 1,000 years and examines how they’ve shaped the Monarchy. And kings called William have had a major impact on the development of Coronations already – from the fight that started outside the ceremony to crown William the Conqueror to the political row that developed when William IV decided he didn’t want a service at all and ended up with one of the cheapest Coronations in history.
The traditional ceremony, witnessed by millions when Charles III was crowned in May 2023, now always takes place at Westminster Abbey. Despite the days of celebrations built around it, which include street parties and concerts, it is a deeply religious moment in the life of the Monarch.
Despite Prince William keeping his faith very personal, Ian Lloyd, author of The Throne: 1000 Years of British Coronations, tells True Royalty that he’s not expecting big changes to that aspect of the ceremony, adding ” I think a lot of it actually depends on when the coronation will be because we had to wait obviously 70 odd years from Elizabeth II’s coronation. The next one could be quite soon in which case it just may be a simple replication of King Charles’, but if it’s in 20 years time it may be completely different.”
And June Woolerton, editor of Royal Central, said that William is inheriting a pattern for Coronations that is actually similar to medieval patterns for the events when celebrations lasted for days at a time, adding ”What Charles was very clever at doing was taking the royal celebrations that we’ve grown used to through the very long reign of Elizabeth II, those many jubilees which, like medieval celebrations, are four-day events and Charles kind of incorporated that into his coronation. ”
The Royal Beat – Back in Time’ is available on True Royalty TV and Coronations is available to view from May 2 2025.
