From our special correspondent in London,
“With my boyfriend, we will stay at home on Saturday. Like many young Britons, Emily is not keen on the coronation of King Charles III, which will take place over three days this weekend. A student in education sciences, the young woman will not watch the ceremony, unlike her friend Juni, with whom she shares lunch this Thursday a few steps from UCL, their university in central London. “It’s the first time I’ll see a coronation,” launches Juni, who qualifies: “I won’t be stuck in front, I’ll have it in the background.”
For Emily, who comes from Essex, a county northeast of London that she describes as “working-class”, the royal family “is just an attraction for tourists”. “I don’t think we need them. They don’t really have an impact in our lives. »
Holiday Monday, coronation interest only
Emily, and Juni’s moderate enthusiasm, mirror what several polls have shown in recent weeks. 38% of young people aged 18-24 think the UK should have an elected head of state and 30% think the country should keep the monarchy, according to a survey of the YouGov institute produced in April for the program Panorama of the BBC. 78% say they are not interested in the royal family. Support for the royal family increases with the age of those surveyed. The phenomenon, however, is not recent. A survey in 2000 already gave the same trends.
For Lisa* and Sarah, who work in human resources at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) at the University of London, the only interest of this three-day weekend is the exceptionally public holiday Monday. “People are more enthusiastic about not going to work,” sums up Lisa. The two young women follow the adventures of the royal family from afar. The Harry and Meghan documentary, because it was on Netflix, got them a bit interested. “But we wouldn’t go so far as to do research on the Internet on such and such a subject concerning them”, confides Sarah.
“It’s good to have some stability”
So, all young people indifferent? Sitting in a park in the sun with his friend Sofia*, a literature student, Ben, a student at SOAS, does not hide his enthusiasm for the coming weekend. “I intend to go to the Mall [artère du centre de Londres où passera la procession du roi et de la reine], just to be there, to experience a historic event. The last coronation was in 1953, it doesn’t happen often! The student had previously attended the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. “It was a great day. When we are patient, we become friends with the people around. »
For Ben, the enthusiasm for the coronation is not the same in the countryside, where he is from, as in London. “In the countryside, every road is going to have a party [le gouvernement britannique et la famille royale encouragent les Britanniques à organiser des fêtes entre voisins ce week-end]. In London, there is so much traffic, it’s different. »
What about the coronation cost? “I think businesses make a lot of money from this. I even saw coronation chips! But will this amortize the cost of the coronation? I don’t know. »
Her friend Sofia will “probably be watching on TV”. British born to a Japanese mother and an ardent Republican Australian father, she does not feel “connected” with the royal family. Although she agrees with several principles defended by her father, she “does not have a strong opinion one way or the other”.
Well, he finds it hard to imagine a principle other than the monarchy in the United Kingdom. “I would rather have someone like Charles, who is more aware of issues like the environment than politics. I do not currently see any politician who could be head of state. He fears that if the head of state is elected, British society will become polarized like in the United States. And then, “it’s good to have a bit of stability. We had a bit of chaos, with Brexit, the changes of Prime Minister. At 74, King Charles cannot hope to reign as long as his mother, but he has already had two prime ministers as king. Sign of a longevity that promises to be longer than that of political figures?
* The first name has been changed at their request.