The King, the Monarchy and their future

Expressions in red – pay attention to these expressions and their meanings. Some of them  are included in the Words, expression and meaning exercise below.

Charles III, crowned in London's Westminster Abbey on May 6th 2023, actually became King in September 2022 immediately after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II. There was no need for any delay nor any discussion; according to the Act of Settlement passed by the English parliament in 1701, the crown passes automatically on the death of a British monarch to the heir to the throne. Until recently, this eighteenth-century law placed male children before any of their sisters; in 2013, the British Parliament amended the Act, ending this gender discrimination that had always prevailed in the past.

Modernising the monarchy

The 2013 change to the order of succession was part of a modernisation of the British monarchy that began in earnest after the death of Princess Diana in a road accident in Paris. Back in the 1980s, while Diana was becoming a worldwide celebrity, the rest of the the British monarchy seemed stuck in the past, attached to old formalities and increasingly detached from the "new" more informal Britain that had emerged. Following Diana's death, it was clear that people in Britain wanted a monarchy that was much more in touch with the mood of nation. Diana had that quality, and Prime Minister Tony Blair is remembered for the name he coined after her death, "the People's Princess."

The Queen's slow and formal reaction to Diana's death contrasted sharply with the outpouring of popular emotion that engulfed Britain in the days after the tragic accident. People no longer wanted a monarchy without emotion; the "stiff upper lip" was no longer seen as a virtue, but as a problem.

This came as wake-up call to the monarchy, and particularly to the Queen, and during the final decades of her life, Queen Elizabeth was at pains to create a new image for the monarchy and for herself. The image of an austere monarch, as created in the 19th century by Queen Victoria, had had its day, in its place came a new image of the monarchy, portraying the Queen as a national grandmother to replace the People's Princess. And the change of image was a success; by the time of the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002, the British monarchy was as popular as ever, with opinion polls showing two thirds of the British population were in favour of the monarchy, with less than a quarter wanting Britain to become a republic.

Overall, Elizabeth II was a very popular head of state, probably the most genuinely popular head of state of any country in the world during much of her 70 year reign; it is a legacy that Charles III will find hard to follow but a challenge for which he seems to be both ready and confident of success.

That success will depend to a large extent on continuing, and even accelerating, the process of modernisation. While very few people in Britain want the United Kingdom to become the United Republic, that could change if King Charles fails to keep the monarchy aligned with the expectations of the people…. and the media.

Royal issues: costs and lifestyles

Issues that are regularly raised, and are a perennial problem for the monarchy, are the questions of cost and lifestyle. According to official figures produced for the government, the British monarchy cost the nation £102.4 million in the 2021-2022 financial year…. a lot of money at a time when a cost of living crisis was making life harder for most of the population. On the other hand, according to analysts at Bloomberg, the Monarchy actually benefits the British economy to the tune of a billion pounds a year… about ten times more than the cost.

In spite of what opponents claim, it is by no means sure that abolishing the monarchy would mean more money for other purposes. Back in 2016, a lot of people were claiming that Brexit would be a big boost to the UK economy; in the event it has proved to be the opposite, and in 2022 the UK economy was lagging behind all other G7 nations.

King Charles knows however that he needs to be seen to be reducing the wealth of the Royal Family and the number of people who benefit from it. Bloomberg estimated in 2022 that the British monarchy owned property worth about £19 billion, and while selling some of this would make little or no difference to royal lifestyles, it would be a symbolic gesture. We can therefore expect some sales of royal property in the coming years, along with other signs that the monarchy is in touch with twenty-first century expectations.

Before becoming king, Charles was known as an environmentalist, a keen supporter of organic agriculture, and someone who was acutely aware of the social problems of British cities. The "Prince's Trust", which he personally set up in 1976, is a major British charity that works with problems of homelessness and unemployment among young people who are struggling at school and at risk of exclusion, and Charles's social and environmental credentials are personal assets that will help him to take the monarchy forwards.

Finally, Charles will need to build on the monarchy's other great assets, its permanence and its position above politics. Ask people in Britain if they want to abolish the monarchy, and just over 20% may say "yes". Ask them who they would prefer to have as Britain's head of state, and there is no agreement.

As for the future of the monarchy, only one thing is sure, and that is that King Charles's reign will be shorter than that of his mother. Will the monarchy survive beyond him? Probably yes,  but nothing can be ruled out..

Related text: ► The Queen who almost wasn't

Word guide
Heir: the person who inherits - inherit: receive something from  another person who  has died - amend: modify, update - gender: sex - in earnest: seriously - mood: sentiment, the way people feel - outpouring: wave, surge - decade: period of 10 years - opinion polls: studies of what people think - legacy: something that one inherits - perennial: continuing year after year - boost: help - property (UK) - real estate (US), buildings and land -  environmentalist: person who is concerned by the natural environment, a green -  charity: a non-profit association - credentials: qualifications, experience -

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Student Worksheet

1. Words, expressions and meaning. Choose the nearest equivalent of each of the following expressions: click the down arrow and select the correct answer.

• Actually :   now recently really
• had ... prevailed :   had been the case had been necessary had been rejected   
• succession  :   success who follows whom merit
• in touch with... : related to unconcerned by distant from   
• coined. : carried took invented
• engulfed: interested filled excited   
• was at pains to: found it very hard to was unable to made a great effort to    
• genuinely  :  truly artificially improbably
• issues  results future questions    
• to the tune of  musically by as little as by about    
• in the event  :  actually eventually currently
• was aware of  was careful with was wary of knew about    
• struggling  :  failing having difficulty happy
• assets :  problems credits objectives   
• ruled out :  excluded predicted forgotten  

Rephrasing

Below are four sentences taken from or adapted from the article.
Rephrase each one in your own words, starting  (and finishing) with the prompts given. The boxes will expand to take the text you type

Remembering what was written.  

Complete gaps in the article from memory; if you cannot remember the exact terms that were used, try to fill in the boxes with expressions that are factually and grammatically correct.

For Teachers

There is just so much in this text to get into: this is a topical text that is likely to remain topical - and maybe polemical -  for the foreseeable future. Deliberately rich in useful vocabulary, common idioms and expressions , it is about people who need little or no introduction as they are among the most recognised people in the world.
Students' familiarity with the issues and the people concerned mean that new vocabulary is intrinsically easier to apprehend and understand, as meanings are suggested by context. Even if there were no vocabulary guide, C1 level students should be able to understand the text and comprehend the sense of new vocabulary in much the same way as they do when reading in their own first language.  

Vocabulary notes

This text is full of interesting vocabulary. Most tricky words and expressions are either explained in the word guide, or  included in the words and expressions exercise.
A few are not, and teachers may want / like to explain them, er clarify them.

• The Act of Settlement :  an Act is a law passed (or to be passed)by Parliament. To settle in this case means to come to an agreement, as in settle ones differences.
• The stiff upper lip.  Showing a stiff upper lip means not showing (much) emotion in difficult situations. It is an expression that was in the past used  as a compliment, but today is often used as a criticism.
• Had had its day (or had had its time) -  was over, was finished.
• To be as popular as ever:  stress the structure used here, with as... as ever.  Not "as never".
• During much of her 70 year reign;  an unusual use of the word much, meaning a large part of.. We could also say For much of her....
• would make little or no difference.    The quantifiers little and no are often combined in expressions like this.
• Homelessness and unemployment.   These two words are excellent examples of how words are formed from root words,  by adding prefixes and suffixes (endings)

Listening and remembering. - Paused reading.

This is the oral equivalent of the written gap-fill exercise / activity  above.
Play  or read this extract from the text, stopping at each of the █  markers, and invite students to  say or write what the next words should be. Try to get students to remember the exact words used, but if they cannot do so,  accept any answers that are both grammatically and factually correct.




Lesson plan

Warm up exercises: the characters talked about in this article are  not just Royalty, they are Celebrities, and as such are known to people all over the world. It is unlikely that your students will know nothing at all about them. So start by asking students - possibly working in pairs - to write down or say what they know about: 1. King Charles III,  2 The Queen (Elizabeth II),  Princess Diana.  Some may also know something about Tony Blair.  The picture at the top of the page shows two other people.  Who are they ? Some of your students are likely to know that on the left is Prince William, and on the right is Queen Camilla, Charles's wife.

Text study. First play the audio version of the text (open the audio player at the top of the page). The audio text is carefully read, and students should not have any difficulty following it.  Go right through the text from start to finish, without stopping. If you think that this will be too much for your students, stop before the sub-heading Royal Issues - costs and lifestyle.
    Next, explain anything that needs explaining, but NOT the expressions that are used in the exercises.

Individual or group / pair work.  The vocabulary and rephrasing exercises can both be done by students individually, or else working in pairs. Pair work in this context involves discussing, justifying one's opinions, and reaching agreement.

Final stage.  This article lends itself to a lot of different classroom or homework activities. a)  Text contraction (reduce the 900 word article to  less than 300 words),  b) Students make up questions on the article, and  ask their partners (or the rest of the class) to answer them.  c)  Write a short article in favour of / attacking the institution of monarchy.  d) Role plays or sketches  e)  If I were King Charles, I would ......