King Charles just reminded Andrew and Harry how to behave - late-Queen would be so proud
Charles is honouring the memory of his 'darling mama' by keeping calm and carrying on, writes Giles Sheldrick.
King Charles has not had a lot to smile about since acceding to the throne almost three years ago. He presides over a deeply divided nation, a family split by rifts and controversies and, amid it all, ongoing treatment for cancer after going public with his diagnosis in 2024.
He evicted his oafish younger brother Andrew Mountbatten Windsor from his 30-room Windsor mansion, as public anger over his friendship with sex offender chum Jeffrey Epstein boiled over, and sent him into effective exile.
Andrew was subsequently arrested on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Charles's relationship with his youngest son Harry, also living in exile after quitting royal life, is strained, distant and defined by deep issues of trust.
It has, to put it mildly, been a baptism of fire.
Taken together, is it any wonder there has been a surge in republican sentiment?
And yet Charles continues to honour the memory of his late mother, a woman he referred to as his "darling mama", after his solemn promise to build on her glorious legacy.
After the death of dutiful Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, after 70 years on the throne, the job of keeping The Firm and country together fell to her son.
Charles knows that only by working together can the institution hope to continue to be a force for good and stay relevant.
That is why he could not have looked happier as he revelled in the company of his wife, children, and grandchildren, leading a unified albeit slimmed down Royal Family for their traditional Easter Sunday service.
This might be a family in crisis but this reminded us all it is one that is defiant, and carrying on. And it was something of a slap round the face for Andrew and Harry, to remind them how royals are meant to behave no matter what.
And by goodness do we need them as the country craves stability and calm.
Beaming Charles, accompanied by Queen Camilla, his strength and stay, was joined by William and Kate, their children Charlotte, George, and Louis, Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, as well as the Duke of Edinburgh and his son James, Earl of Wessex.
But it was the tender touch of a loving grandfather that spoke so much as Charles gently patted Charlotte, 10, on the shoulder as he walked into church.
Although steadfastly phlegmatic in public, Charles is thought to be increasingly puzzled at his separation from Harry, who he last saw in September, and his grandchildren.
Harry, his wife Meghan, and their children Archie, 6, and Lilibet, 4, named after the late Queen Elizabeth, now live in California.
How his heart must ache at their continued, self-imposed, exile.
Yet the smile he wears in public shows he is, just like his mother, determined to keep calm and carry on with stoicism his byword. It is why Charles is happy to focus on family who are present, loyal, and part of his life, rather than the ones who are not, be that through choice or circumstance.
