It’s Charles’s crown at last. Now what?

Today, a 74-year-old British man formally assumes a job that was promised to him when he was born — a strange event by itself in a country w [Bloomberg]( [King Charles’s Coronation Should Be Britain’s Last]( — Pankaj Mishra Today, a 74-year-old British man formally assumes a job that was promised to him when he was born — a strange event by itself in a country with record levels of underemployment and a severe cost-of-living crisis. But the coronation of King Charles III, one of the world’s richest men, will also be funded by the taxpayer — estimates are running over $100 million — and commemorated with a national holiday. Photographer: Carl Court/Getty Images Europe Moreover, as the new king receives the sovereign’s orb, sceptre and coronation ring, and is anointed with oil specially sacralized in Jerusalem, his subjects around the UK and abroad will be invited to say the words, “I swear that I will pay true allegiance to your majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God.” “The absurdity … can be total. It appears to ridicule analysis. It takes the onlooker beyond anger and despair to neutrality.” These words by V.S. Naipaul, originally used for post-colonial India and paraphrased slightly, apply today to post-imperial Britain, arguably also a deeply “wounded civilization” that is ruled by “ritual and myth” and seems “incapable of lasting reform, or of a correct interpretation of the new world.” Read the [whole thing](. Here’s what else Bloomberg Opinion’s writers have had to say about the coronation and the royal family’s role in a world much changed since Elizabeth II took the throne. [Britain Needs a King, Even If It’s Charles III](: “Amid the nation’s economic and political troubles, it’s great to be offered a show that will cheer us up, even if we don’t purchase the tacky souvenirs.” — Max Hastings [British Glasses Are Half Full for King Charles](: “Brits might toast King Charles with a glass of champagne or a beer at a barbecue. As some consumers hope that the worst dent to their finances in decades is easing, the glass will be at least half full.” — Andrea Felsted [What Science Says About the Coronation of Charles III](: “The monarchy’s most important function today is not just to embody tradition in a rapidly changing world, but to provide a force for cohesion in a society plagued by atomization and anomie.” — Adrian Wooldridge Bonus Royal Reading: - [King Charles Won’t Bridge Anglo-German Differences]( — Martin Ivens - [Farewell to Queen Elizabeth II, a Monarch for the Ages]( — Bloomberg’s editorial board - [Is There Anything More British Than ‘the Queue’?]( — Therese Raphael - [Reality Is Coming for Britain’s Royals]( — Pankaj Mishra - [King Charles’s Belated Reign Can Still Be a Fruitful One]( — Martin Ivens More From Bloomberg Opinion Here’s what we’ve been listening to this week. - [Crash Course: Pity City, Andi Owen, Bonuses and Post-Covid Workplaces]( with Timothy L. O’Brien (listen on [Apple]( or [Spotify]() - [Bloomberg Opinion: The Price of Bank Runs and the Value of Twitter Blue]( with Paul Davies, Lisa Jarvis, Clive Crook and Allison Schrager This is the Weekend Edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today: Royal Family Edition, usually a roundup of the most popular stories Bloomberg Opinion publishes each week based on web readership. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](