Presume not that I am the thing I was,
For God doth know — so shall the world perceive —
That I have turned away my former self.
~ Wm. Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part II.

“I speak to you today with feelings of profound sorrow.” Such are the first words to the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and the wider world, of King Charles III. 

He addressed the nation Friday evening to pay tribute to his late mother, Elizabeth II, but also to sketch an outline of his future role as monarch. There are Shakespearean intimations — of the insouciant Prince Hal’s transformation into the sober Henry V.

“Throughout her life, Her Majesty The Queen, my beloved mother — was an inspiration and example to me and to all my family,” Charles solemnly remembers.

Queen Elizabeth’s 96 years was “a life well-lived.” Her devotion to duty was “a promise with destiny kept,” he declares, marked by an “abiding love of tradition” and “fearless embrace of progress. 

“She is mourned most deeply in her passing.” Charles himself now assumes that responsibility, for “that promise of lifelong service I renew to you all, today.”

The King looks to the future, from the perspective of the past. “In the course of the last 70 years, we have seen our society become one of many cultures and many faiths. The institutions of the state have changed, in turn.

“But,” the King boasts with confidence, “through all changes and challenges, our nation, and the wider family of realms . . . have prospered and flourished. Our values have remained, and must remain, constant.” Charles is subtly drawing a line in the sand, that “change” must respect the claims of “values” and “constancy.”

He is especially poignant on the sacral nature of monarchy. “The role and duties of monarchy also remain,” Charles confirms, “as does the sovereign’s particular relationship and responsibility toward the Church of England — the church in which my own faith is so deeply rooted.”

Another signal shift for the King. In 1994, the Prince of Wales spoke of his desire not to be “Defender of the Faith” — a title, curiously, conferred upon then-Catholic Henry VIII by Pope Leo X — but as “Defender of Faith.”

An older, wiser Charles may be more conscious that relativism is ravaging Anglicanism. “In that faith and the values it inspires, I have been brought up to cherish a sense of duty to others,” he promises.

The King now touches the very nature of constitutional monarchy, upon which rests the viability of the Crown. Charles vows “to hold in the greatest respect the precious traditions, freedoms, and responsibilities of our unique history and our system of parliamentary government.

“As the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation,” Charles promises. “I shall endeavor to serve you with loyalty, respect, and love, as I have throughout my life.”

The King now gives the most significant example of his transformation to “Henry V” from “Prince Hal.” Admits the new monarch, “My life will, of course, change as I take up my new responsibilities.

“It will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply,” he says with an air of regret. “But I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others.”

Herein lies the secret, whether the reign of Charles III will be a path to progress or the road to ruin. The “activist prince” must become the “patriot king” of Bolingbroke’s aspirations. He must eschew special interest conceits that divide the kingdom, in favor of policies that unite the people behind the throne.

Incidentally, King Charles need not give up his social activism entirely. Rather, he could throw himself whole-heartedly behind supporting “the precious traditions, freedoms, and responsibilities of our unique history” — the targets of woke, “cancel” culture.

Even ardent monarchists occasionally whisper that if Queen Elizabeth had any faults, it was in too ardently remaining “above” politics. Such well-meaning disinterest had the unfortunate effect of abandoning the bedrock of British culture to the destructive whims of partisan politicians.

The King ended his address with words about his immediate family. Charles was happy, he said, to “count on the loving help of my darling wife, Camilla, my Queen Consort.”

Charles spoke warmly of his son and heir, William, who is now known as “Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge” and who assumes the King’s former Scottish titles. “Today I am proud to create him Prince of Wales,” the King added, in a bit of breaking news.

Nor was the dark sheep of the family forgotten. “I want also to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas.”

Winding up his speech, Charles spoke directly to his subjects and the world-wide audience. “On behalf of all my family, I can only offer the most sincere and heart-felt thanks for your condolences and support,” he said. “They mean more to me than I can ever possibly express.”

Monarchists and constitutionalists will gladly give their support to the new king, your Diarist believes. For if Charles fails in his duty, the fate of the United Kingdom is sealed.

There is no better conclusion than Charles’s tribute to his late mother, Queen Elizabeth: “To my darling mama, as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late papa, I want simply to say this: Thank you. Thank you, for your love and devotion to our family, and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years.”

He himself ends on a Shakespearean note: “May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

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