Today, Saturday, May 5, 2023, I will not be watching the coronation of King Charles. For most of my life, I have loved the pageantry and majesty of the United Kingdom. I remember waking up as a teenager to watch the wedding of Charles and Diana. I’ve loved and admired Queen Elizabeth and was heartbroken when she died last September. The pomp and circumstance of the royal theatre have intrigued me from the time I was a child.
But now I understand that my passion for the royal family was really about a person, the Queen, and not about the family or the institution.
I was nine years old when Queen Elizabeth came to Boston to celebrate the Bicentennial with us in July 1976. I remember watching her on the evening news. I loved history and I felt a historical connection to the Queen and the United Kingdom during that visit that has remained to her death.
As I got older, my love for the Queen only grew. Even as the tabloids reported the darker side of the Queen’s family from Prince Charles' affair with Camilla Parker Bowles to Prince Andrew's alleged involvement with Jeffrey Epstein I never lost respect for the Queen or the institution she led.
Although I understand that the members of the royal family are not perfect people, and they are capable of making mistakes, my admiration for Queen Elizabeth does not extend to King Charles.
I will always admire the Queen’s commitment to service. But I just don’t feel the same for the current monarchy.
I’m praying for the future of the United Kingdom but I’ve moved on and I will not be watching the coronation.