Here are some photos of King Charles and Queen Camilla on Day 2 of their tour of Samoa. They went to the Samoan Cultural Village, where they watched dancing and they were presented with a pig. Charles also got to drink something from a polished coconut shell. I think Charles is a rotten old man, obviously, but seeing how rough he’s looked on this tour has been startling. I would be jet-lagged to hell and I’m a hell of a lot younger, but it doesn’t look like just jet lag. Charles has just aged so much so rapidly this year. Maybe pausing his cancer treatments for this trip wasn’t the best idea too.
Meanwhile, Politico’s European arm published a fascinating piece this week, ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa. Politico’s piece is called “The end of the British Empire.” Some highlights:
The frayed ends of the British empire: As a symbol of the decline of British power, it could hardly be more stark. This week King Charles III will preside over a summit of 55 nations associated with the fraying ends of the British empire. Hosted by Samoa, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), a biennial gathering of state leaders, will also be attended by his Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The British monarch’s convening power is not what it was. Indian PM Narendra Modi and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, two of the most powerful Commonwealth heads of government who would normally be in attendance, both plan to skip this year’s summit in favor of BRICS — a separate gathering of major developing nations hosted by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in Kazan, where Chinese President Xi Jinping is also in attendance. Sri Lanka, which is applying to join BRICS this week, is sending neither its prime minister nor foreign minister to Samoa, an official at the High Commission in London said. Not even Canada, a close ally of the U.K. and fellow member of the powerful “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing network, will send its prime minister or foreign minister to CHOGM. The head of its delegation will be Ottawa’s high commissioner to the U.K, a Canadian official confirmed.
Keir Starmer cut his own trip short: Even Starmer’s own trip — his first to Britain’s former colonies in the southern hemisphere — has been cut short. A U.K. government official confirmed the PM had scrapped plans to add in a stop in Australia, as aides feared it would keep him abroad for too long ahead of a pivotal government spending package being unveiled in London next week.
Reparations: This year the Commonwealth’s smaller members are demanding more than just goodwill from their hosts. Multiple Caribbean nations have used the run-up to the summit to call for reparations from Britain for the legacy of slavery, with Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis calling CHOGM the ideal forum to “make progress.” Nations have been in talks about whether to reflect reparative justice in their communique, to be finalized by leaders Saturday. All three African leaders vying to be the Commonwealth’s new secretary-general — a choice leaders will make Saturday — said last month the issue should broadly be on the table. It is part of a “long history of using Commonwealth summits as a forum to air broader grievances which often have Britain involved,” said Harshan Kumarasingham.
Whether reparations are really on the table: No one really believes the U.K. will hand over reparations worth alternatively £200 billion (according to one leading academic) or £18 trillion (per a United Nations judge). In truth the conversation is moving away from calls for “pure” reparations and toward help combating wider issues like climate change, which hits developing, small and island states hardest. The issue is firmly on the agenda at CHOGM, alongside a declaration for a “sustainable and resilient ocean.” A No. 10 spokesperson insisted the U.K. does not pay reparations and that the issue is simply “not on the agenda.” They said there would be no apology for Britain’s role in slavery at CHOGM.
While Charles seems somewhat committed to carrying on his mother’s legacy of embracing and nurturing Commonwealth ties, I would also assume that Commonwealth nations are looking to the future, and asking themselves if the Commonwealth will still be relevant or any kind of priority in the years to come, especially post-Charles. “King William” clearly does not give a sh-t and will likely oversee the disbanding of the Commonwealth, or at least an extreme minimization in Commonwealth priorities. Yeah… all of this is just…fascinating to watch.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Apia, SAMOA – King Charles III and Queen Camilla visit The Samoan Cultural Village which celebrates the importance of traditional arts, crafts, culture, enterprise and sport in Samoa. Pictured: King Charles III and Queen Camilla BACKGRID USA 24 OCTOBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Apia, SAMOA – King Charles III and Queen Camilla visit The Samoan Cultural Village which celebrates the importance of traditional arts, crafts, culture, enterprise and sport in Samoa. Pictured: King Charles III and Queen Camilla BACKGRID USA 24 OCTOBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Apia, SAMOA – King Charles III and Queen Camilla visit The Samoan Cultural Village which celebrates the importance of traditional arts, crafts, culture, enterprise and sport in Samoa. Pictured: King Charles III and Queen Camilla BACKGRID USA 24 OCTOBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Apia, SAMOA – King Charles III and Queen Camilla visit The Samoan Cultural Village which celebrates the importance of traditional arts, crafts, culture, enterprise and sport in Samoa. Pictured: King Charles III and Queen Camilla BACKGRID USA 24 OCTOBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Apia, SAMOA – King Charles III and Queen Camilla visit The Samoan Cultural Village which celebrates the importance of traditional arts, crafts, culture, enterprise and sport in Samoa. Pictured: King Charles III and Queen Camilla BACKGRID USA 24 OCTOBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Apia, SAMOA – King Charles III and Queen Camilla visit The Samoan Cultural Village which celebrates the importance of traditional arts, crafts, culture, enterprise and sport in Samoa. Pictured: King Charles III and Queen Camilla BACKGRID USA 24 OCTOBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Now that he’s gotten so thin, and losing his hair, you can really see how much William resembles him in the face.
The commonwealth watched him bully his biracial daughter-in-law and remove his son’s protection. Also any goodwill from the commonwealth was for QEII and it wasn’t going to extend to Chuckles. Times have changed and Chuckles hasn’t nor will he ever.
He brings nothing to the table. He doesn’t even have a charming, interesting wife who genuinely cares about others. He’s a cold, spoiled man who threw away a son and his side-piece can’t bring herself to hide her disdain for being near people who are not exactly like her.
The photo of oblivious chuck and gassed side-piece next to healthy, thriving and healthy people is quite stark.
Cowmilla slumped in her chair with her tote bag on the floor… She’s a hot mess.
He does look rough, really rough. Cancer does that to you, and so does chemo.
When my mum had chemo, she looked so dreadful and felt so terrible that I was sure she was dying. I didn’t quite believe it when she phoned and told me her doctors were stopping the chemo because she was in remission. That was 14 years ago and she’s still going strong today.
There’s a possibility that KC will improve once he finishes his chemo, if it’s put him in remission. If it’s palliative chemo taken to lengthen his life without being able to cure him, he’ll get steadily more unwell. I actually feel a little sorry for him, despite all his issues.
I wish I could empathize with this man! What he did to 2 women! two people who did absolutely nothing to hurt him is dreadful! I wish him everything he ever wished to Diana and Meghan
He also treated harry horribly and wants nothing to do with Archie and lily.
No sympathy for this man. Karma is showing in his face.
@vs YEEESSS!!!!👏👏👏👏 karma is real
It’s not just two women though. It’s two women AND his son. His own flesh and blood. Then there is the damage done to the extended family members who love these three and have to endure watching their loved one be targeted and killed.
No sympathy here either. Chuckles deserves everything that’s happening to him and much much worse.
I think that what people don’t understand is that Willy has got his father by throat. If Charles was to be more sympathetic to Harry then Willy would threaten to go. For British monarch’s the most important thing is the succession which is why the Queen coldly put her job above her children. Charles doesn’t want to be known as the King that dropped the ball and so he must keep Willy happy. I bet Charles is more upset by lazy Willy and Kate and the way that the Middleton’s have taken control.
@PrincessK – I’d say that’s spot on.
PrincessK him refusing to condemn the treatment of Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet is a choice. The monarchy wouldn’t be in jeopardy of ending if he would have done the sensible and right thing which is love and protect his youngest son and his family. This abuse isn’t new to Harry, neither is Charles’s willingness to allow it to happen for his or William’s own benefit. Charles has allowed Camilla, William and Kate to use and abuse him long before Meghan came along. Any possibility of William deciding to not fulfill his obligation would rest entirely on William. As parents you set good examples for your children and hope in the end that they make good decisions from your example. It would only look bad on William if he retaliated by not becoming king all because he’s upset that his father did the right thing and condemned the abuse of Harry and his sons family. That is a reflection of who William is and we can’t give him or Charles a pass because of childish behavior or their weakness as parents to set good examples or represent the monarchy in a more forward and inclusive way.
This really makes the dancing in the fields video look even more ridiculous. The narcissism in filming that when your father in law is clearly dealing with something more is just a hugely bad look.
What’s that old saying? “When the gods want to punish you, they answer your prayers.” Chucky Boy got everything he wanted. He’s king, his side piece is queen, his charismatic son and daughter-in-law are out of the way. And none of that has brought him the fulfillment or joy he sought and thinks he deserves. Karma’s a bitch.
…and so is Camilla.
The deterioration of that family and the crappiest deals with the press started with Charles and his needs in regard to this woman! I will never understand why he was so willing to give up Diana for this woman! He then sacrificed his sons to get PR for Camilla. As far as I am concerned, he is just ripping what he sowed years ago…. He should have never married Camilla, never!
He should have been given the same choice ad Edward viii marry her and give up the throne
Charles didn’t want to marry her then. He didn’t want to get married at that point in his life. Maybe if he’d become involved with her first years later it would’ve been different. But he dithered and she then moved on with APB.
Camilla was dating Andrew p b for years she wanted him not charles. And charles did not tell Camilla they had a future together. Charles was turned down by marriage prospects before he dated diana.
Yes, as I said she moved on with APB. She’d been seeing both and Charles heading off to sea duty for 8 months after dithering about a commitment sealed the deal. She was engaged to APB when he returned. A match her family forced on him by announcing the engagement even though he hadn’t proposed.
And, yes, he was turned down by 2 other women. Amanda knatchbull who was Mountbatten’s granddaughter, the match was much desired by Mountbatten which likely affected Charles. And Anna Wallace his last girlfriend before Diana. Who reportedly dumped him after he ignored her at the queen mothers birthday party to spend time with Camilla.
I don’t think Andrew p b was forced.,after all they dated since 1966 and maybe he wanted to settle down and have children. Andrew may or may not have proposed first. I think he did. The crown had this plot .point which I don’t think is true. I don’t think Charles wanted to marry Camilla. He had. Various relationships and he said his other married mistress dale tryon was the only woman who understood him
He and Diana were basically an arranged marriage and it went horribly wrong because they had nothing in common and were a generation apart in age. Marrying her was a cowardly thing to do.
Diana did not get the memo thst it was an arrange d marriage. Charles asked her out on dates and she was free to turn them down. She fell for his line. Arranged marriages though do not give men the right to cheat. Charles is a coward Diana was besotted with him but he preferred camilla.
It went wrong because Charles used her to get heirs then ditched Diana Camilla was always around one way or another. He was 32 she was 19 and later he said he did not love Diana
Diana did not see it as arranged marriage
My parents and many others in our families had arranged marriages, including cousins of my generation.
Please do not conflate an arranged marriage with a loveless marriage or an open marriage.
Arranged marriages are undertaken with commitment and understanding of what the relationship entails, and assume that the partners will be faithful and caring for each other. The meeting might be arranged but one marries someone whom one feels one can love/be attracted to, etc.
Maybe Western aristocratic/moneyed marriages were open ones made for dynastic purposes…I don’t know.
It was absolutely an arranged marriage—but nobody bothered to tell Diana, who was genuinely in love, and she didn’t find out until it was too late.
They took full advantage of a teenage girl bc they wanted a virginal aristocrat to birth heirs.
Rain everywhere they go.
Monsoon season started early this year, which is why climate change is a high priority at this meeting.
Even a stopped clock like Politico can be right twice a day.
Good comment. Usually it’s so right-leaning I can’t bring myself to read it.
Ugh. Cheers for BRICS with annexer and invader Vladimir Putin hosting.
The photos are super airbrushed. She looks so smug grinning for cameras
I thought she was drunk or feeling the effects of something calming.
I think she must have to take medication to prevent vertigo from flying. A good friend of mine suffers from it and has to take Ativan or something similar when she flies, and it makes her kind of woozy.
I think that smug little half smile is her internally ridiculing the Samoan ceremony, the Samoan culture and the Samoan people. She thinks it’s as funny as those Canadian throat singers, but she is controlling herself and not laughing out loud at the brown people this time. This time.
She has another clear umbrella.
If KC had wanted to somewhat continue his mother’s Commonwealth legacy, he would have done this while she was still alive, well before her death. That would have signalled continuation and made for a smoother transfer of monarchs. Not to mention, in his first year KC was mostly AWOL on this issue. And his heir has not been asked/ forced to step in.
The man looks incredibly ill, this tour is expensive and unpopular on so many levels, and yet, this is what KC felt the need to pause his chemo for. He’s getting some of what he deserves.
The RF and the government, whichever is in power, should have a clear idea about the short, mid and long-term usefulness of the Commonwealth. What other purpose do the weekly meetings of the King and PM serve, but telling the monarch what direction they should steer the CW? I also don’t see the Windsors having that much knowledge, intelligence, vision, statesmanship or leadership skills to reframe the purpose of the Commonwealth to keep up with current geopolitics. It is left behind by BRICS and other alliances that have a clear purpose and benefit to the countries who participate. Considering the current geopolitical turmoil and economic fluctuations etc, these leaders don’t have time to sit around watching dance shows and KC and Cams making faces at fancy food just so the Windsors can play colonizer emperors a little longer. Their mere presence brings nothing to the table at this point and they have no idea what else they could possibly do. This is an evident drawback of non-elected, birthright leadership. QE2 understood her role as a mascot and cultural symbol, and she brought nothing more to the table. Charles doesn’t even bring that, and that’s partially because he didn’t realize the asset he had in Diana. William will not even try.
Seeing the ravages of age and poor health on Charles allows me the opportunity to express compassion for a man who waited his entire life to inherit a role that is now as diminished as he is. He’s not been a good person, father, husband or possibly even son but he has his demons to deal with so I’ll leave it at that.
I wonder if he has ever reflected on his poor decision making – what might have been if he had been a better man, husband and father. He’s good at reading speeches provided for him by his lackeys, but his personal behavior/ decisions have also contributed to the much diminished influence of the BRF. It’s not just about the acknowledgement of Britain’s role in racism/colonialism alone but HIS own personal failings that have affected the RF’s influence and standing in the world of the 24 hour news cycle.
Self-reflection is not in the dna of royals and when you live largely without consequences, no amount of poor decisions will ever give cause to ask ‘what if I had done this or that’. Still, he’s an old man in the twilight of a very uneventful life (historically speaking) and I can only hope that those he wounded find peace and move on.
I think self-reflection won’t be done until he’s on his death bed. He seems to have totally given up on making William into a monarch for the future once he’s gone, and Kate has always been an empty shell with no desire to work for the tax-paying public who fund her existence in any meaningful way. Charles’s last thoughts will likely be sadness that the monarchy is dying along with him.
Charles was a hardworking Prince of Wales and unlike Willy had real passion for certain causes. Yes, a pity that he had to wait so long for the throne but l think that he will leave a better legacy than Willy ever will.
I agree with you on that. At least in his youth Charles worked hard and his work had substance. He didn’t just vacation for half the year and have photo ops like William.
I know Charles felt a need to do this trip and his doctors okayed it. But rather than brave it just looks kind of foolish. He could have stayed home and taken care of himself rather than go on a trip that feels more about his ego than anything else. Idk maybe I’m being harsh .
He should have sent William, unfortunately his heir was too lazy to even hop across the Channel for the Olympics.
If William ever gets forced to visit Australia he’ll spend half the tour sleeping off the jetlag and the other half watching rugby and drinking.
And, don’t forget, either badmouthing or trying to one-up his brother!
I wonder if William refused to do it.
Charles shouldn’t even be Head of the Commonwealth.
No current member of the royal family should, none are remotely competent, dedicated or intelligent enough to run a fruit stand.
To me these two look like they are stumbling around lost. They are both unattractive, lack authenticity and charisma and offer nothing in return for adulation. Read the Politico article earlier and it was spot on. The British Empire is dead.
This is a person who can accept that his own son and his son’s family are attacked or killed by racists. I have no sympathy for him at all.
You can look at pictures of Philip c 1996-7, when he was the age Charles is now, and it’s night and day. Charles is looking like Philip did as a man more than a decade older and in middling health.
And they’ve dropped the ball seriously as a functioning commonwealth. It’s been mishandled on a Brexit level. BRICS is poised to be a seriously destabilizing force with Russia, China and, increasingly Iran. And China has made huge inroads in Africa and the Caribbean. The world is going to see the effects of that in coming generations.
This trip shows the lack of pull the British monarch has when it comes to world issues. Three heads of Commonwealth countries have noped out of this meeting and sent subs, two are attending a summit headed by an enemy of the UK. William the heir would have been out of his depth in such a meeting because he never truly prepared in the 24 years and counting for his future role as sovereign. Nice to see not all media is in the tank for the Windsors and will give frank assessment to their “roles”.
I just listened to a report on BBCworld about the commonwealth meeting on my drive to work, and the reporters spoke about the embarrassment to the UK that the major talking point has been reparations. They mentioned the PMs responses about “wanting to look forward and not backward,” but didn’t mention the king at all.
I think the royal family is confronting a reality that they have failed to confront for years now: they have no relevance in the contemporary world because they refused to create a relevant space for themselves. They have stuck stubbornly to their notion of tradition, expecting the world would still hold them in thrall for just existing. That they have no message, no vision, no commitment to service, nothing but entitlement. Every single commonwealth delegate knows the way they treated a nonwhite member of their own family. They have no respect because quite frankly, they haven’t earned it. That Charles is old and sick is sad for him, but it’s a pretty apt symbol for the royal family itself: old, sick, and increasingly irrelevant.
I commented something similar above before I saw your comment. I agree and the reason why they missed every single opportunity to change with the times and reframe their roles is that they are simply not intelligent or charismatic enough for any kind of leadership role. Hasn’t someone said before that they start the day by reading the tabloids and what they say about them? Who with a real job has time for that?? They should immerse themselves in current affairs and their historical and economic background so they can create a useful role for themselves. They use the excuse that they are not supposed to delve into politics, but look at Harry and his work, or other European royals who are not preoccupied with their soap opera lives 24/7.
I don’t know where they have been because there has been land treaty litigation in Canada since the 1990s. This was always going to be an issue, especially once the residential schools issue came to the forefront. Not all crimes happened in 1867 and later. A lot of it happened when Canada was a British colony.
The decline has been evident for almost 100 years – sooner or later someone is going to be left holding the bag. Pretty soon Charles will be handing that bag over to William.
They gave him kava to drink. I hope the person serving it spat in the bowl first lol
He looks exactly like his father in these photos.
He looks like Philip looked when he was in his 90s though. Philip at this age was fit and vigorous.
Yes, it is amazing that Charles has not inherited his parents genes, who both looked very fit and healthy in their mid 70s.
Apart from his hands being puffy they are also very red.
KC3 looks like QE2 and Prince Philip just before they died.
So frail
In pictures from this tour, I noticed that his hands are the most swollen I’ve ever seen. They were starting to lose some of that water retention but they’ve blown up again. Especially his right hand. It looks deformed.
His right hand has been that startling red hue for some time now. I’m wondering if that’s where his doctors have been putting the cannula. Apparently that’s what made QEII’s hands look so bruised towards the end of her life when she was having treatment for bone cancer.
He doesn’t look good at all, I actually will be surprised if he makes it to summer of next year at this rate. She isn’t looking much better with the edema swollen extremities either, pretty sure it’s why she switched to pants, they were looking nasty.
It’s not the commonwealth that needs to be disbanded. We need to remember, Charles did not automatically become head of the Commonwealth upon the Queen’s death. Before she died, she asked the leaders of the countries if he could be the head after he became King, which they agreed to. The issue is “Head of State” which Charles is of only about 14 or 15 of the 55 members of the CW. This is what he automatically became when he ascended the throne as this position is part of the constitution of these countries. Head of Commonwealth and HoS are two different things. Charles should not be HoS of any other country other than his own. Let the Commonwealth carry on and they can choose their own president, officers and directors etc. It does not have to be a British monarch. As far as HoS, countries like Australia, Canada, New Zealand and all other nations who still have him in place, need to get rid of the monarchy because it still reeks of colonialism. It’s not easy but not impossible either.
“Before she died, she asked the leaders of the countries if he could be the head after he became King, which they agreed to.”
QE2 did that when Meghan was engaged to Harry (or just married? I didn’t bother to check the exact date.) way before all the racism within the BRF towards Meghan were known to the outside world. She used Meg to secure Charlie Boy as next Head of Commonwealth: See, Commonwealth nations, WE (I, the Queen) accepted a Black person to be a Princess of the Royal Family. Just like Charlie walked Meghan down the aisle on her wedding day, all for PR & their own benefits (pretending to be not racists).
Why can’t the position of Head of the Commonwealth be on a rotation basis with all the participation countries having a turn? Either that or each nation having an equal vote on who should be head for a set period of time? This would certainly make it more equitable to all participating nations and less dependent on unelected figureheads whose only wish is to maintain the lofty status into eternity!
He looks terrible.
He really does. It’s like he’s aged 10 years instead of 2 since the coronation. If only he had a reliable son who would be happy to represent him so he can take his time and recover. Sort of like a spare…….
Truthfully I hope he is being haunted nightly by Princess Diana, not only for what he did to her but what he has done and continues to do to her youngest child’s family.
Yes he does. That tour was a mistake, he looked like a little frail and broken man.
I would never wish more suffering on someone already dying of cancer, but I do agree he and the faux queen should have stayed home. The tour was indeed a mistake.
I had to Control F this suckor to make sure the Sussexes were not attacked. That’s the state of affairs when it comes to royal reporting. I’m shocked, I tell ya, not a word about the Sussexes any where in sight.
LOL, love this!
I think the commonwealth can still be relevant, if they choose to sever ties with their colonial past. That could start with them choosing a leader who isn’t associated with the British Monarchy. Stop bowing to your historical tormentors and move on, and let the word “commonwealth” truly mean just that. The imbalance that involves all the wealth stolen from these countries remaining with the British is unconscionable. And it is racist that only the white countries have a Visa agreement with Britain.
Maybe instead of the concubine, KC should have had a take your son to work trip and had Will at his side to introduce him to a high level discussion? Both King and heir should be working closely together and this would help prepare Will for the top job. He could always throw his pen at Will if he gets cross because his son keeps asking papa to explain what’s going on during the CW meeting!
Unfortunately, Charles would probably have to bribe his heir to attend – and it would probably be to high a price to pay and not worth the effort or aggravation!
I don’t think Commonwealth leaders have any time for Willy and he doesn’t care about them.
@LadyDigby – I get why you comment about William accompanying Charles, but W’s presence would surely have damned the British monarchy pdq.
The UK media can rant all it wants about H&M, but the rest of the world hasn’t been fooled: those fifty-five Commonwealth nations in attendance will be in no doubt at all about the veracity of Spare and how appallingly W&K treated Harry & Meghan. I think we can safely say W will be less than warmly welcomed at any such meeting – and memories will be long.
Charles let William do as he pleases. It’s not going to change now imo
Charles is cosplaying King.
Tick, tick, tick, tick your time is running out for The Crown.
Charles looks very frail. This trip was not wise, his ego wanted it, not best for his health tho.
All the photos coming out of this “tour” looks so dated; the pictures out of Samoa look positively colonial. Charles and the monarchy in these situations have passed their “best by” date. They look so last century. I think Queen Elizabeth lived beyond her “best by” date as well. Charles in particular looks weak and pathetic. The whole tour has been a concept way past its due date, conceived by minds mired in the past, a century out of date. I recall a scene from The Crown where a young Elizabeth was keen to work with a new private secretary full of “new” ideas and she was beaten down. The Windsors cannot make themselves even a smidgen more relevant if their advisors all come from the same pool that find change and progress anathema.
We maybe have witnessed the last real royal tour. I think this tour, combined with the Wales hot mess of a Caribbean trip, have been the end stamps on the “let’s impress the natives with our sparklies” royal tours. As the royal family can’t take criticism of any kind, they won’t learn from this–they will just stay home, or do point to point trips for specific events. Ironically, the only “royal tours” being done in the future will be done by the Sussexes for their own projects. The Wales are too thin skinned to risk the negative responses, and Kate has never been comfortable meeting people of color. So they will stay home, with her having convenient “health scares” to prevent any travel outside of Windsor, London, and Norfolk. The era of the royal tour is over.
Millionaires and billionaires old sick men need to recognize themselves and step the F out of working. As heavy or as light that work load might be. Especially if your health is in decline. It’s not brave or inspiring and does not make you more of a man. You are wealthy. Enjoy your last years rested and be a decent human. That’s it. Donate money to people that really need it. Just flying is tiresome as F.
I wonder if Charles and William are subconsciously sabotaging the monarchy. Both were forced by the institution to marry women they didn’t love, have children they didn’t want, and, at least in the case of William, take jobs they aren’t qualified for or interested in performing. And poor George has never looked well or genuinely happy to my eyes.
Charles was not forced. William of his own volition settled for Kate
They both wanted heirs.
He looks dreadful and it was probably a bad idea to even undertake this tour. He should’ve stayed in England to complete his cancer treatment and stop listening to evil courtiers who tell him that he has to outdo PH.
I would be much more impressed with him if he allowed access to his cancer treatment and reached out to that community. But he’s dragging the hag across the world and looking completely unwell.
Go home KC3
They both should have stayed home. He looks like Grandpa Munster and she looks like the dummy Slappy from Goosebumps. His face in the first photo looks as if he just saw a ghost. The swelling of his hands has returned and his health should have been his main priority because William is too incompetent to take over his role as king. Camilla’s smile is always creepy but it is always especially creepy around POC. It’s like her facial expression is glued onto her face and it just looks very creepy and mischievous, as if she is devising an evil plan that no one knows about.
If he was prone, he’d look like a corpse dressed in all white and adorned with a floral lei.
Man his hands look painful!