While I heartily support the holding of a traditional, if adapted and pared down, coronation for King Charles, I wonder (and fear) if it might end up hurting the monarchy in the long run. Many of us who post or lurk here will love it, but recent polls have shown rising (if still soft) republicanism among younger Brits. That population also tend to be less religious in general and less Christian in particular. Will the coronation strike them as absurd?
There is a disturbing precedent with which many of you will be familiar. In France, Charles X's coronation shortly after his accession in 1824 was widely ridiculed and, while certainly not the cause of the 1830 overthrow of his dynasty, it contributed to a general sense that the monarchy was out of place in nineteenth century France.
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