King Charles III 's ascension to the throne has heralded a new chapter.
Britain’s monarch follows one of history’s most illustrious reigns, with a Prime Minister operating in a disjointed political landscape, and a population battling a cost-of-living crisis.
The war in Europe has also led to a catastrophic energy supply problem. All of this against a backdrop where many people, from across the generations and the 14 Commonwealth realms, are questioning the place of a constitutional monarchy in the modern world.
The King also takes over as Britain’s oldest monarch. At 73, can he really adapt and steer The Firm in the direction it now needs to go?
Here, we examine his big challenges...
William, Harry and Andrew
Infighting and scandal has plagued the Royal Family in recent years.
Prince Andrew involvement in a sex abuse scandal, where he was accused of having sex with a 17-year-old girl, brought shame on the royal family during the Queen’s final years.
The Duke of York vehemently denied the accusations but ended up paying £12million to Virginia Giuffre, now 39, rather than face a civil trial in New York.
Andrew, 62, was forced to step back from all royal duties and relinquish his military appointments.
The same occurred to Prince Harry when he quit his royal role and was forced to give up his cherished military appointments.
But since then the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have railed against the royals over their perceived treatment in numerous interviews with American media.
With Meghan’s veiled threats on keeping a journal during her brief time as a royal and Harry’s upcoming memoir on the horizon, the King’s issues are right at his doorstep.
He will need to decide on whether to extend an olive branch to all three or ex-communicate them for good.
Republicanism
As the head of state of 14 Commonwealth Realms, King Charles will have to face a mixture of anti-monarchy and republican movements gathering support across a world where he is King.
In the last year there have been growing and continued calls for statements of apology and the payment of reparations to be made by the monarchy, for its historical role in the transatlantic slave trade.
The King, like his late mother, has always been a huge supporter of the Commonwealth and wants to be “a partner, not a ruler” within the British realms, particularly those in the Caribbean which saw protests during the Prince and Princess of Wales’s Spring tour this year.
Charles was in Barbados last year to witness a handover of power when the curtain came down on centuries of British rule.
The King is philosophical about the change of relationship between nations, especially amid conversations of the relevance of a white King in emerging Caribbean lands.
Jamaica signalled to William and Kate how it would be next to follow Barbados, with Antigua and Barbuda announcing in days of the Queen’s death it too would sever ties with Britain within three years.
Many will be watching how this moving situation unfolds for the King in the early days of his reign.
Cost of living
Taxpayers forked out more than £100million for the Royal Family last year.
Amid a backdrop of the Government borrowing hundreds of billions during the pandemic and now to grant huge tax cuts to the rich, it may appear just a drop in the ocean but still questions will be asked as to whether the royals are good value for money.
The Prince and Princess of Wales now have four homes and the King has paid no inheritance tax on his mother’s vast fortune, while ordinary Brits are wondering and worrying over how they will afford their heating bills this winter.
Wider questions remain over whether a constitutional monarchy can have any relevance in a modern world – all of these are major issues for the monarch to address.
Meddling
Can Charles really change from a meddling Prince to a King? Can he ditch his pet habits of commenting on or, worse, interfering in government business – whether through comments or his infamous letter writing?
In his address to the nation as the sovereign, the King admitted “my life will change”, and change it must.
In recent months Charles has been caught out reportedly accepting cash from foreign dignitaries, and his right-hand man Michael Fawcett was forced to step down from his role running Charles’ charities over cash for honour allegations.
Just days into his whistle-stop tour of the UK, the King made comments to Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford about the affordability of gas bills for locals.
Although this shows the sovereign may be tapped into the struggles of normal folk, this type of political meddling could find him in hot water in the future.
Age and legacy
He is a new King but arguably an old man.
At 73 Charles takes over as the oldest monarch in British history and he is acutely aware that his time to cement a legacy is severely limited.
However, with this could come an opportunity to have his son and heir William by his side.
As a trusted lieutenant of the King, William will have an opportunity like no other to learn the ropes.
The monarch has spoken both publicly and privately of his wish to carry on from the Queen’s success to bolster his own legacy.
With William by his side, who has already taken over the mantle for environmentalism on the global stage with his Earthshot Prize project, both father and son can realise the potential for a shared vision and in turn make the much discussed slimmed down yet more effective.
