Heavy is the head that wears that nearly 5-pound crown. Even if King Charles III will only actually wear the solid gold, ruby- and amethyst-encrusted St. Edward’s Crown for a few moments during his May 6 coronation.
Because the metaphorical weight of carrying the monarchy his mother Queen Elizabeth II deftly helmed for more than 70 years until her death last September can feel far more intense.
Or, as a 21-year-old Charles once put it to a BBC radio program, realizing that he would one day be king was “something that dawns on you with the most ghastly, inexorable sense.”
Because even though the former Prince of Wales has only been on the job for eight months, it’s a role he’s been preparing for literally his entire life. And Charles, who was only 3 years old when he watched his mother begin her lengthy reign, had quite the formidable tutor.