From The Daily Telegraph recently:

Zelensky hailed the King as a ‘true inspiration’ Credit: Getty

Sovereign

There was a time when [His Majesty King] Charles [III] was spoken of as a “caretaker” King – a phrase his allies have always bristled at. He would fill the gap, it was thought, between the beloved and long-serving Queen Elizabeth II and a younger, vigorous King William V and his glamorous wife.

It is now clear he is doing a great deal more than that.

As Tina Brown, the former Vanity Fair editor and biographer of Diana, Princess of Wales, wrote recently: “As the British public waits for Prince William to walk through destiny’s door, the most that was expected from the transitional reign of his septuagenarian father was, in Churchill’s phrase, to just ‘keep buggering on’. And yet, Charles’s first few years as monarch have been something of a quiet triumph.”

The successes are easy to list.

The King has charmed post-Brexit Europe by addressing parliaments there in their native language, rehearsing diligently to get his French, German and Italian accents up to speed.

In May he jetted to Canada for less than 24 hours (he is, lest we forget, the King of Canada) to attend the State Opening of Parliament. It sent a message to America, in not so many words, that Canada was a sovereign nation they should stop threatening to invade.

Trump has been “very quiet” about it since, notes one British diplomat.

Charles has burnished his own diplomatic credentials with support for Ukraine, hosting President Zelenskyy for tea at Sandringham in March, shortly after Zelenskyy’s bruising encounter at the White House. 

The war was a “priority” for the King to discuss with President Trump during their private meetings during the state visit, a palace insider confirms. A week later, Trump made what appeared to be a public U-turn to say that Kyiv can “win all of Ukraine back in its original form” and is said to be growing impatient with Putin’s Russia. 

“It is interesting timing, isn’t it,” notes the source. Some Ukrainians, meanwhile, have credited the King outright.

His quest for building bridges between the faiths is ticking along without the need for speeches: he will visit the Vatican this month, and recently made a striking show of attending the first royal Catholic funeral in modern history – of Katharine, the Duchess of Kent, with the Royal standard flying above Westminster Cathedral.

The King’s speech at Auschwitz for the 80th anniversary of liberation was warmly received, making him the first monarch to visit the site of the concentration camp. His work with the Windrush generation, commissioning their portraits for the Royal Collection, helped celebrate their contribution to British life in the middle of the culture wars.

Having been so outspoken in the past can work to the King’s advantage, aides believe: the public knows what he thinks, so now he can say less and “convene” – that favourite royal word – more.