King Charles makes new royal connections as he visits birthplace of Charles I

Any reception was going to be warmer than the booing that greeted Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, but in sharp contrast the new King was again met by cheering crowds.

The celebrations were to mark Dunfermline becoming a city, as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Two weeks after her funeral, her legacy is never far away as was acknowledged by her son as he spoke warmly of how her love for Scotland had been one of the foundations of her life.

He will also be aware that Scotland’s support for the monarchy has long been synonymous with its affection and respect for his mother. With her death and the start of a new reign comes a need to reaffirm that relationship.

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So in the birthplace of Charles I, it was the turn of Charles III to make new royal connections.

Yes, if they bother to come out to see the Royal Family you’d normally expect them to be a friendly bunch, but the crowds were relatively large, hundreds crowding into the streets around Dunfermline’s city chamber and abbey.

And what has been striking is how they feel they can touch him, one woman stroking his arm, and exchanging banter with him, one man offering him a haircut, phones filming every interaction up close. You wouldn’t have seen this with the Queen.

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With a slightly younger monarch – the King is 73, compared to his mother who was 96 – we can expect to see more of him on engagements. With that comes opportunities for the public to get to know him better but also, with cameras everywhere, potentially more scrutiny of everything he says and does.

It’s why his team are now having to review everything that was in the diary for this autumn to see if it’s still appropriate for the King and Queen Consort to do now. We’ve already seen that with the decision not to go to COP27.

Respecting Britain’s diversity is one commitment he has already made, and in Edinburgh they had invited people from British South Asian communities to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The room was packed.

These are now important weeks and months for building new relationships and reaffirming old ones. Times have changed. You just have to look at the footage of Camilla posing for a selfie at what would be deemed a formal reception to see that.

But as his mother would have taught the King, building that sense of connection is vital, and reminders of a shared history and friendship will always go a long way.

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