After the death of the monarch, the new monarch—the heir apparent-must be proclaimed before officially taking the throne. Then, the monarch will serve as sovereign for several months before the official coronation which takes place several months later after a suitable period of mourning for the past regent.
Whenever I read about history, I am always struck by how difficult a transition this must be. The monarch has been told that his or her parent (or, in some cases, relative or loved one—like William IV and his niece Victoria) and must mourn that loss as well as grapple with the face that he or she is now the monarch and deal with the myriad problems that come with such a transition. It’s a daunting situation and one that most of us could not survive with the grace that we have historically seen.
No comments:
Post a Comment