What awaits Britain in a new era under newly crowned king?

In reality, the King has already taken the throne since his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, passed away a year ago. Some might remember the chaotic time after her demise, the economic and political challenges. At the time, Liz Truss was the head of government, not really trusted by Britons particularly those in power. She resigned as premier after just 44 days in office, to own the unenviable record of the shortest-serving premier.

The political chaos and the passing of the queen hit British people in succession. The coronation of King Charles III will bring together dignitaries from around the world and also mark the first overseas state visit of Thailand's King and Queen.

Thais and Britons share some common customs and practices, which they value. The two countries are democracies with a parliamentary form of governance under a constitutional monarchy system, which is challenged by some republicans and antagonists.

I am more than delighted to announce that I am a royalist. There is nothing to hide or change or fear. As a professor at Chulalongkorn University, I am proud to be a Thai who got very good opportunities for education at Chula during my undergraduate years and then do my Doctor of Philosophy at Oxford University in the UK.

The seven years in the UK changed me a lot as a person. I learnt a lot about what we usually call “the British system” both in politics and our way of living. I was in the UK during the late Queen’s jubilee celebrations and watched England get close to winning the Fifa World Cup. It was a contentious idea of the national head coach to allow the wives of football stars like David Beckham, Alan Shearer, and Michael Owen to join the team following some satisfactory successes in the preliminary matches. However, the team’s fortunes took a tumble very quickly after the wives joined the squad. To be honest, I do not want to blame the defeat on the wives, but in the eyes of a keen football fan like me, I could not think of another reason.

Being a king is not an easy task. In the Thai context, the King has to uphold many ethical traditional values and perform them cautiously at all times as an example to the nation.

These days the world is getting smaller with new technologies and social media. In the last few decades, people have raised a number of challenging questions about almost everything we did in the past, either for their own sake or for other unknown purposes.

I have never heard students asking me many unbecoming and provocative queries, namely, the necessity of following old Thai customs and culture. Of course, they also question about the monarchy. I tell them they could ask me anything, but I will never back down if there is a challenge to the monarchy, religion and the nation.

They would like to have all traditional practices and customs changed and reformed as they wish. Fortunately, many people realise their demands do not genuinely and scientifically come from pure ‘hearts and minds’ to initiate a real reform. Many propose an agenda filled with anger and hatred rather than the best intention to move the country forward. The UK might be going through the same phase with many contradictory views and conflicts among several political minorities.

Since the demise of the late queen, the world’s longest-serving monarch, and the upcoming era of the new king, Britons are currently encountering multiple challenges. Energy prices have skyrocketed, pubs and restaurants are shutting down daily, Covid is making a return, and there are lots of protests from many unions etc. Some experts predicted that these developments could bring the UK economy to the brink of collapse. Some even believe that the crisis had started following the impact of Brexit during the Boris Johnson administration. In his place comes Rishi Sunak, another Superman in 10 Downing Street, who many Britons of Asian origin are convinced will lead them to light.

Nearly a year since the closed-door negotiations with Johnson and the shameful exit of Truss, things do not seem to be going as planned. The number of unemployed people is rising all over the country. It remains to be seen if Sunak can pull Britain out of the rut.

It does look like no matter what the state of the UK economy, Sunak will hold the reins of power until the next general election. Come what may, the UK and Britons now have the new king as head of state under the so-called constitutional monarchy system in which “he is under the same law as other ordinary citizens”, although he might have some extra privileges but also according to things defined or stated in the law.

May I wish His Majesty the King as well as all my beloved friends and foes in Great Britain the very best of success for the years to come.

"God Save the King".

Amorn Wanichwiwatana, DPhil (Oxon), is a former member of the Constitution Drafting Commission and a current professor at the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University