PLEASE NOTE: due unforeseen circumstances, this talk has now been cancelled and will no longer take place.


The death of the Queen and the accession of Charles III made most of us think and talk about monarchy more than ever before.

Primary-school children, who only a few months ago were painting crowns and corgis to mark the platinum jubilee, shared feelings about death, and wondered about the new king who would soon appear on their coins. Unprecedented media coverage meant that those who did not join The Queue could linger on images of the coffin and the grieving royal family as well as witness some arcane rituals of state. The King's coronation, announced for next May, will stimulate further debate about the royal family, amid political chaos and an acute cost-of-living crisis.

This talk will think about the role of monarchy in Britain and about how it has changed, and it will ask questions about its future. What kind of king will Charles III be? What is he allowed, and not allowed, to do? What do you think about the monarchy? What will happen in the fourteen other countries where Charles III is also Head of State - in Australia, for example, or in Jamaica?

Dr Alice Hunt is an Associate Professor at the University of Southampton. She has published on monarchy and is currently working on a project on Elizabeth II and the Caribbean.