King Charles Picks His King Name (It's King Charles)
The third
The Queen is dead which means that Prince Charles immediately became the new HBOC (Head Bub in Charge). Yes, ol’ sausage fingers is now officially His Majesty King Charles III. And how majestic he is!
There was some talk that Prince Charles might choose a new name as king, which is not a terribly uncommon thing to do among royals; each member of the fam is given approximately 16 middle names so as to have options if they ever coup their way to the throne. Indeed Charles’s pop-pop, King George VI, who was born Albert Frederick Arthur George and known as Bertie, chose his regnal name to honor his father King George V.
Charles had some good, if safe, middle names to choose from: Philip, Arthur, and George. But the decision to stick with Charles seems fairly clear cut. A King Arthur would be pretty funny, you have to admit. King Philip sounds weak. And King George — there’s just too many Georges these days.
Why give up a name such as Charles? Well, per Town and Country, the name has a boot full of baggage:
Back in 2005, multiple reports said the Prince had discussed giving up the title Charles III because of unfortunate associations with previous monarchs named Charles. (Charles I was the only member of the monarchy to be tried and executed for treason, and his son, Charles II, who was known for his legendary love life, ruled during a particularly nasty bout of the plague and the Great Fire of London.)
I have to disagree. I think King Charles is perhaps the only royal name with a good connotation. Why no credit for the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel?
Can you imagine one of these little guys in a tiny crown, knighting British comedy presenters? Now that’s a government whose military I would voluntarily enroll in. Congrats to the new king.
