The king’s speech, delivered to the nation by King Charles III soon after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was the most important address of Charles’s life.

Speaking from the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, where the queen addressed the nation for many of her Christmas messages, the new king was understandably emotional. It had been barely 24 hours since his beloved mother had passed away peacefully at Balmoral, the Scottish residence she so loved and where she wanted to die.

A brilliant orator—even at times of heightened emotion—thanks to many years of royal training, Charles—the most experienced king this country will ever have—gave an address that was perfectly pitched; a moving and heartfelt tribute to his ‘darling mama’ and a genuine thank-you to the nation for its support through the moment he confessed he had been dreading.

It was also an important insight into the future—from his decision to end his speech with a line from Hamlet, to his announcement that he had conferred the title of Prince of Wales to his eldest son, William (meaning Kate Middleton is the Princess of Wales), to the olive branch in expressing his love for Harry and Meghan Markle. And we can deduce from his comment about duty that he plans to reign his entire life, quashing any speculation that he might hand over the reins to his son: “As the queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I, too, now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.”

As the royal family and the world come to terms with the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the gaze inevitably turns to the future. And while it appears King Charles III has the support of his people, his path is not guaranteed to be a smooth one. Consider Charles’s woes. Closest to home are: his youngest son and daughter-in-law’s familial abdication and the complete disgrace of his brother Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, who has been stripped of his honorary titles and royal role. Charles is said to desperately want to reconcile with his son Harry, but it remains to be seen if the rift which caused the queen so much upset will ever be truly resolved. Charles and William, however, are unified in the decision that Prince Andrew will never represent the family on the public stage again. 

And there’s the Commonwealth. Charles’s accession is the moment when many countries and realms will consider, and possibly reconsider, their own futures. As sovereign of those realms, the queen was venerated, celebrated. But there are many people in countries like New Zealand and Australia who feel the need for a hereditary monarchy, with its seat thousands of miles away on another continent, dies with her.

Charles is acutely aware that the future of this voluntary group of nations is uncertain, and he has said it is “‘a matter for each member country to decide.” But what worries him more than any of this, according to my sources, is the existential threat to the United Kingdom posed by the Scottish independence movement. “His absolute preoccupation is keeping the union intact,” according to a close friend. “His view is that if he ends up being the King of England, then the kingdom would be diminished and it would become a huge issue in terms of our global status.” In so many ways, this could hardly be a more perilous period for the new Charles III.

It is why after Charles was officially proclaimed king by the Accession Council, he conducted a tour of the four corners of the United Kingdom, including Scotland, where the queen lay in state at St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh for around 24 hours before her body was flown home to England.

It was significant that by Charles’s side at his accession was his heir apparent, who observed every moment diligently knowing that his turn would be next.

In contrast to Charles, who is already well into his 70s, William is likely to begin his reign in midlife, with Kate by his side. Along with George, Charlotte, and Louis, the family presents a more youthful and vibrant vision of monarchy, just as the young Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip once did. No royal documentary is complete without throwback snaps or grainy footage of the original royal superstars and their children. Back in the ’50s and ’60s, they could be seen larking about with toy carts at Balmoral, burying each other in the sand of Holkham Beach near Sandringham, and skidding along waterslides on the deck of the Royal Yacht Britannia.

It will be down to the Waleses to find a way to reawaken that deep old magic, offering a sense of continuity along with their modernity. Showing off their photogenic family, as they are doing more and more, is one way of accomplishing just this. George, Charlotte, and Louis, who had starring roles at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June, are being raised by their parents with an awareness of their positions and the roles they will one day carry out in support of the monarchy. George knows that like his papa, he will one day be king, while Charlotte will likely juggle the role of being the spare with a career. Louis could well be a private citizen undertaking occasional royal duties, like William and Harry’s cousins Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, as well as princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. Inevitably, because he is an heir, there will be more pressure on George, something William and Kate are acutely aware of. Kate is said to admire the way Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, are raising their children—Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn—in the bosom of the royal family but prepared for life in the real world. 

William and Kate, who has an in-depth knowledge of childhood through her early years work, have insisted on creating as normal an environment as they can. They recently downsized, moving from Kensington Palace into the much smaller and more discreet Adelaide Cottage in Windsor Home Park and moving their three children into the private Lambrook School in Berkshire this month. Their next move, I am told, will be into Windsor Castle. Their incarnation of British royalty looks more like today’s Spanish royal family with King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia on the throne, or perhaps Denmark’s, where Crown Prince Frederik and his Australian-born wife, Crown Princess Mary, are poised to succeed. And the appealing prospect of King William and Queen Catherine with Prince George next in line may quell any rumblings of discontent in a country reigned over by an aging King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla.

As the world comes to terms with the death of Queen Elizabeth II, attention will soon turn to King Charles’s coronation, which is expected to take place in the spring or early summer. So what do we know of the plans, reportedly code-named Operation Golden Orb? Well, his coronation is expected to be shorter and less expensive than his mother’s, and the new king wants the public to witness the experience just as they did his accession. The ceremony will likely highlight the line of succession, with William, Kate, and their children featured more prominently than other members of the family. Camilla will reportedly wear the Queen Mother’s crown, made for King George VI’s coronation in 1937, with its bewitching central diamond, the 105.6-carat Koh-i-Nûr (meaning “mountain of light” in Persian). In this way Charles will align his wife with his beloved grandmother, the last queen consort to be crowned in the UK, whose memory is still treasured by many Britons.

However, the Commonwealth will require more than royal hopes and history to hold it together. Charles is the third head of the Commonwealth and will not want to see its demise. “I imagine it is important to Prince Charles that the Commonwealth won’t die with him,” notes constitutional expert Alastair Bruce. “No one wants to be holding the institution when a significant part of its profile is taken away. That’s not going to happen in the next reign, but it’s up to the Commonwealth where it goes in the longer term.”

Bruce is referring to the fact that Barbados joined the list of countries that have cast off the queen as head of state. It did so when it became a republic in 2021, though it’s important to point out Barbados is staying in the Commonwealth. Jamaica aims to follow suit, becoming a republic, and St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines may do so too. During his visit to Barbados, Charles was clearly moved to see the queen’s standard lowered and new president Dame Sandra Mason sworn in. “From the darkest days of our past and the appalling atrocity of slavery, which forever stains our history, the people of this island forged their path with extraordinary fortitude,” he said in an address which openly acknowledged Britain’s colonial past. He praised them, knowing other realms could be looking enviously at Barbados’s new horizon.

This fear of obsolescence overseas was why in 2014 William and Kate took the then eight-month-old Prince George for a major tour of Australia and New Zealand; why Charles and Camilla visited both countries a year later; and why Harry and Meghan were there in 2018, announcing they were expecting their first child while visiting Sydney.

It was also why William and Kate led what they hoped would be a Platinum Jubilee charm offensive to the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Belize in March—but it turned into their most controversial tour to date. Such overseas visits, noted historian and royal commentator Ed Owens, “are efforts by the monarchy to shore up support for the crown.” But it was not to be the case here.

The tour got off to a bad start when a community in Belize protested the visit, forcing the royals to cancel a village meeting before they’d even arrived in the Caribbean. In Jamaica there were noisy protests outside the British High Commission and demands for reparations for slavery. Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness seized the opportunity to speak, in the couple’s presence, about his country’s intention to become a republic. Kate and William might have had a warmer welcome in the Bahamas, but the heavens opened ahead of a sailing regatta, spoiling what could have been a brilliant photo opportunity.

Other photos of the trip played out far worse. A spontaneous handshake through a wire fence with a crowd of football fans looked to many, in the words of BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond, like “some sort of white--saviour parody.”

Had Harry, who had been assigned a prominent role as a Commonwealth ambassador on the queen’s behalf, been on the tour with Meghan, the optics might have played out differently. Sadly, the significant role Harry and Meghan were expected to play in the life of the Commonwealth—their interracial marriage emblematic of equality, diversity, and unity—was lost when they left. The royal family is an institution based on white inherited privilege. Its future lies in the hands of three white men, and that is a fundamental problem in a diverse country such as Britain and across the countries of the Commonwealth too. Meghan played a huge part in relieving some of this tension; the loss of all she represents as a biracial woman in the royal family, as well as her energy and talent, has had a real impact.

As Harry and Meghan press ahead with what some have called a “third way” of being royals, capitalizing on their new lives in America, their glamorous and richly endowed alternative court is a contrast to the House of Windsor. It remains to be seen whether they will ever reconcile with their family. Relations have been strained since they left Britain: This was glaringly apparent when Harry did not return to the UK for his grandfather’s March memorial service at Westminster Abbey.

The duke cited security issues. He has tangled with the UK government, claiming his private security arrangements didn’t give him the protection he needed while on UK soil and that he was prevented from paying for police protection to beef them up. But his absence was taken as a snub. It was only the reckless, self-serving behavior of the Duke of York—who emerged from the shadows to walk the queen to her seat in full view of the TV cameras—that prevented Harry’s no-show from dominating the day’s proceedings.

Some progress was made, however, when Harry and Meghan stopped off in Britain on their way to The Hague for the Invictus Games just weeks later. Charles insisted on meeting Harry and Meghan before their audience with the queen. According to one insider, he wanted to make sure Harry wouldn’t be able to sweet-talk her the way Andrew had and get her to agree to anything without Charles’s say-so.

The meeting with Charles and Camilla was more awkward than their cordial tea with the queen. The Sussexes were late, and Charles had just 15 minutes with his son and daughter-in-law before he had to leave for the Royal Maundy Service at Windsor Castle, where he was standing in for the queen for the very first time. While father and son are said to have greeted each other warmly, there were moments of tension. “Harry went in with hugs and the best of intentions and said he wanted to clear the air,” according to a family friend. “He actually suggested that they use a mediator to try and sort things out, which had Charles somewhat bemused and Camilla spluttering into her tea. She told Harry it was ridiculous and that they were a family and would sort it out between themselves.” William and Kate were reportedly skiing with the children, and William pointedly did not change his holiday plans.

There were raised eyebrows at the palace when, days after the meeting with the queen, Harry spoke about their reunion on NBC’s Today program. He revealed his grandmother was “on great form” and added he wanted to make sure she was being “protected” and had the right people around her. It wasn’t clear whether Harry was referring to his father and William or the aides who were closest to the queen—such as her private secretary Sir Edward Young, her personal adviser and in-house dress designer Angela Kelly, and trusted courtier Paul Whybrew.

It seemed Harry’s drive to win back some of the trust that had been shattered post-Oprah was dashed. There was also still the matter of what Harry plans to disclose in his forthcoming memoir.

For Charles and William, the situation with the Sussexes hasn’t just been hurtful and upsetting on a personal level. There have been real repercussions, particularly for William, whose young family has been thrust into the spotlight prematurely. He always expected Harry would be his wingman; there was a long-term plan in place for the brothers to work together and support one another. After Harry announced their departure, William summoned aides to address the future, in what has been referred to by some in William’s circle as the “Anmer Summit.” But William and Kate also felt a sense of relief, that “the drama was gone” when Harry and Meghan left, as a source told me. To this day, William still cannot forgive his brother.

The brothers’ estrangement also threatens to cast a shadow over Charles’s reign and possibly William’s. Charles knows his public reputation could suffer if he is seen to be turning his back on his youngest son. The queen, who was deeply hurt by Harry’s decision to leave his family and the country, nonetheless ensured the door was always open for her grandson and his wife and children to return. For now Frogmore House is still theirs.

Those close to Charles say he won’t stop trying to heal the rift with his son, as he made sure Harry and Meghan were by the family’s side at the queen’s funeral. “He is hurt and disappointed but he has always said his love for Harry is unconditional,” says a friend, adding that Charles also wants to have a role as a grandparent to Archie and Lilibet.

The matter of titles, however, is more complex. Now that Charles is king, Harry and Meghan’s children automatically become Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex; however, at the time of writing, the royal family’s website still has them listed as Master Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor and Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor. We know titles matter to Charles, and he reportedly wants to limit them to the top tier of royals. He is also reportedly reluctant for his brother Prince Edward to take the title Duke of Edinburgh, even though it was their late father’s wish. We have also heard how hard Charles lobbied his mother for Camilla to be given the title of Queen Consort. So what is he considering in relation to his family so far overseas yet still intent on leveraging their royal links?

Would Charles go as far as barring Archie and Lilibet from becoming a prince and a princess now that the Sussexes are no longer working royals? According to a source close to the king, “it depends a lot on what happens in the coming months, particularly with Harry’s book and their TV show.”

The queen made it clear that if Harry and Meghan chose to leave, they could not reap the benefits of being royal. And according to a friend, privately the queen confided that she was exhausted by the turmoil of their decision. “She was very hurt and told me, ‘I don’t know, I don’t care, and I don’t want to think about it anymore,’ ” says that person. But it was a source of sadness to the queen that she got to see so little of Archie and Lilibet and that Harry and Meghan were not able to join her for a weekend at Balmoral in August, when the queen used to host a “sleepover” for all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Today there is still coolness between William and Harry—and on William’s part, a serious lack of trust. I asked a senior aide who has been close to William and Harry for decades what he thought about the brothers’ falling out and the prospect of two rival courts, the Sussexes and the Waleses. He offered a far more optimistic answer than some: “Actually, the more you see about how the Sussexes are approaching these things, it is much more Californian, much closer aligned to activism and celebrity than it is to royalty. The point about royalty is it’s the only institution that links together civic society, the philanthropic world, and establishment.” That person added, “The Sussexes know they’re not able to compare to them. The key point is that they’re not even trying. What they are doing is making a difference in their politico-philanthropic world, and that’s great.”

As for the king and the heir apparent, we have seen in the days since the death of Queen Elizabeth that both Charles and William have inherited the stability and goodwill the queen engendered down those long, long decades.

As for the “happy and glorious” bit of their respective reigns? That’s up to them and the people they serve. 

A version of this story appears in the October 2022 print issue.

Adapted and excerpted from The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown. Copyright © 2022 by Katie Nicholl. Available from Hachette Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc., New York, NY, USA. All rights reserved.

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