Can Prince Charles save the Commonwealth once the Queen is gone? | Rob Harris
Prince Charles jets into Kigali, Rwanda, next week with the weight of a former empire on his shoulders. The king-in-waiting has been thrust into the limelight during the past months, stepping up as his ailing mother drastically scales back her public duties.
While the Queen has championed the Commonwealth throughout her reign, many critics damn it as ineffective and irrelevant. “The Commonwealth talks about the importance of promoting democracy, tackling climate change, tackling gender inequality. But the Commonwealth isn’t necessarily a logical framework internationally in which to deal with any of those problems.”
But Charles, 73, has already shown that his long wait to become king has taught him the art of diplomacy. When he visited Canada last month as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the palace was acutely aware of the prospect of another post-colonial public relations disaster. “We must listen to the truth of the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples, and we should work to understand better their pain and suffering,” he said. “We all have a responsibility to listen, understand and act in ways that foster relationships between Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in Canada.”
However, he believes if it modernises, potentially by removing the royals as the ceremonial head and allowing nations to share responsibilities for chairing the organisation, it can survive and thrive as a consequential alliance. “The biggest open goal of the Commonwealth is tackling climate change, as many countries in the organisation are likely to suffer greatly due to its effects. The organisation could really have a role to play, for instance by supporting countries to move away from carbon to net-zero emissions,” he said.
“Charles may actually have the ability to get more done than Elizabeth, as he has significant experience working with organisations that are campaigning in these areas,” she says.