King Charles 'Egged': Netflix Crown's Latest Season on Diana & UK's Anti-Monarchy Debate May Spark New Battle for Ruler | Explained

Ever since he became King after his mother and Queen Elizabeth II, Charles has faced anti-monarchy protesters. Now, during a visit to northern England on Wednesday, King Charles III and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, narrowly avoided being hit with eggs thrown at them, according to British media footage.

The 73-year-old monarch and Camilla, 75, appeared to be targeted by three eggs that landed near them during a walkabout in York before being escorted away by bodyguards. The video saw a man was heard shouting “this country was built on the blood of slaves” and “not my king” before being detained by several police officers.

The incident comes on the heels of ‘The Crown’ a Netflix series on the life and history of the contemporary British monarchy. The latest season covers an explosive season for Charles – his extra-marital affair with then-married to someone else and now Queen Consort Camilla – along with his ‘treatment’ of deceased Princess Diana.

Since Charles’ taking over, a couple of social media videos, showing an often-irked Charles with his staff have gone viral. Users have commented on the ‘snooty’ nature of the new King, and past tales of his quirky behavior have come back into scrutiny – from his often-criticised environmental and architectural views to his failed marriage with Princess Diana.

A Controversial Royal

Charles has been a controversial royal over the years, from his affair while married to Princess Diana, and alleged persistent political interference, to occasional gaffes and scandals involving aides.

Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest son has never enjoyed the same public affection as his mother, which may add to the challenges he now faces as king.

He has battled a string of public relations headaches dating back decades, including accusations of being cold towards his enduringly popular first wife Diana.

Despite some better press more recently, the tabloids had become well versed in taking shots at him for seeming distant and aloof.

Meanwhile, the depiction of his marital woes in the hit Netflix series “The Crown” is unlikely to have garnered Charles much sympathy several decades on from that troubled time.

While the series had declared a pause after Queen Elizabeth’s death, it’s now back, with all the scrutinised details of Prince Charles’ rocky marriage with Diana dramatised.

He has also faced accusations of interfering in politics on various topics spanning architecture, homeopathy and climate change. And in 2021 his most trusted aide resigned for a second time in his royal courtier career amid controversy.

“I think all of this stuff is damaging, from ‘The Crown’ to reality to everything that’s going on,” royal author Penny Junor said in late 2021, as a cash-for-honours scandal involving Charles’s charity empire erupted.

“None of it is good news. The queen is much loved, Charles is less loved. I think it will be difficult for him whatever happens, but all these revelations are not helpful.”

‘Three people in that marriage’

Charles’s image took a devastating hit during his acrimonious separation from Diana.

In her extraordinary 1995 interview in which she revealed her feelings over his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, Diana famously said “there were three people” in her marriage.

The royal couple had made the bombshell announcement they were separating in 1992, but following the fallout from the controversial sit-down with the BBC’s “Panorama” programme they finally agreed to divorce.

Giving her version of events — and admitting her own infidelity — Diana laid bare her struggles within Britain’s most famous family, criticising the royals and questioning Charles’s fitness to be king.

It drew horror in parts of the British establishment but won her public sympathy, which was only amplified after her death in a Paris car accident in 1997.

Charles was long vilified both for the extra-marital affair, which was blamed for the breakup, and in part for the royals’ poor initial handling of Diana’s death, when they were widely criticised for appearing heartless and out of step with the public.

UK’s Anti-monarchy Sentiment

Anti-monarchy sentiment in the United Kingdom has long preceded Queen Elizabeth II’s death, a report by Indian Express explains. The Republic campaign is the largest lobbying group for UK Republicans seeking to overthrow the government and replace it with a republic with an elected head of state. The monarchy, according to the group, is an outmoded system that has no place in modern society.

The British anti-monarchy tradition dates back to the 18th century, when British radical Thomas Paine, inspired by the French Revolution, called for a complete overhaul of the British court. According to historyextra.com, he advocated for the creation of a written constitution, the abolition of the Church of England, and the reform of aristocratic land ownership.

However, anti-monarchy sentiments flourished during Queen Victoria’s reign. Following the death of Prince Consort Albert Edward in 1861, she withdrew from public life, and their son became the target of widespread criticism. Edward, the heir to the throne, was well-known for his penchant for gambling, as well as his romantic escapades and infidelities.

Prince Charles accession to the throne seemed to revive that sentiment, and not just in the UK but also worldwide. Calls to abolish the monarchy have grown louder in countries outside the UK that are governed by the Commonwealth. There is growing opposition to royal authority in countries such as Jamaica, New Zealand, and Canada. People have protested Charles in the UK with the slogan – ‘Not My King’.

With inputs from AFP

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