The last time Britain saw a coronation ceremony for a King and Queen Consort was in 1937, when Calcutta — now Kolkata — belonged to the British Crown and was naturally a part of the event. Today, even though the city retains a lot of its colonial past — far more than any other Indian city — its people remained largely indifferent to the coronation of Charles III and Camilla.
While the demise of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022 made many in Kolkata emotional, her son’s succession to the throne appears to hardly generate any feeling, with the same people not very impressed by his personal character.
“A lot of people do not have the same reverence they had for his mother, the late Queen. She was known for her impeccable public behaviour. We cannot say the same for Charles. His inability to remain firm about marrying his first love, now Queen Consort, speaks of his lack of determination. It also led to a lot of sadness all around as we all know,” said Sudeshna Chakraborti, a retired teacher.
“He has not many any specific commitment about reducing royal dependence on public funds despite having accumulated enormous personal wealth. His spat with his younger son Harry and his wife is unbecoming of a father who is also the King. Yes, he did say he was going to allow researchers to investigate royal involvement in the slave trade, but so far has not said anything about making reparations,” Ms. Chakraborti said.
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Krishna Rajeshwari Mitra, a descendant of Raja Nabakrishna Deb, who contributed to the British victory in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, said: “Does Charles’s coronation matter to me? Not really, because I am not sure what good he can do for India. But I appreciate the gesture that they invited Andrew Parker Bowles, the former husband of the current queen, to the event. But if Lady Diana was still alive today, would they have invited her as well?”
Many appeared to be missing Princess Diana. Manzilat Fatima, the Kolkata-based great-great-granddaughter of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, said: “The monarchy which ended monarchy in India by dethroning Wajid Ali Shah and which did not recognise his and Begum Hazrat Mahal’s son Birjis Quder’s coronation are still upholding the glory of their legacy and celebrating the coronation of King Charles III. So ironical! Having said that, if I were to accept the new King and Queen, I would say Lady Diana befitted the role better because it is her son who is the future heir to the throne.”
U.K. resident Jane Richter, a historian and a tour operator and a frequent visitor to Kolkata, isn’t surprised at the city’s indifference to the coronation. “If Kolkatans find themselves questioning today’s monarchy, they are not alone in that thought! Also, Charles isn’t as popular as his mother. And the state of the whole royal family as it now stands is on somewhat shaky ground. I think the lack of interest is, to a degree, mirrored in Britain itself.”
