One week out from the King's coronation and excitement is starting to build in London. But there have also been plenty of anti-monarchy protests, leading some people and countries to question how relevant the royal family is.
1News’ Europe correspondent, Mei Heron, explains the mood in Britain’s capital.
I hopped into a black cab the other day in London and once the driver heard my thick Kiwi accent, he asked me what I thought of the UK.
But before I could even answer he said: "we're a miserable bunch aren't we?"
While that's a pretty harsh assessement, he pointed to some strong pieces of evidence to back his case, citing the chaos that still lingers post-brexit for many businesses, rents at record highs, and familes expected to pay more for food and power with soaring inflation.
Amidst the cost-of-living struggle, now is also the time the royal family is asking everyone to come together for a big party to celebrate the King's coronation.
Union Jack bunting hangs above the streets of the British capital and there are coronation-themed bus tours, cocktails, cupcakes and memorabilia aplenty for the hundreds of thousands of royal enthusiasts expected to descend from across the UK and the world.
But despite all of that, King Charles has asked for the coronation to be less extravagant and more streamlined. There will only be around 2,000 guests compared to the over 8,000 at his mother's in 1953.
Robert Hazell, Professor of Constitution at University College London, said it has a lot to do with the King wanting to stay relevant and not seem out of step with the public.
"Public opinion suggests there is less very strong support for the monarchy. And the palace is always sensitive to those changes in public opinion. And therefore it doesn't want the coronation to be a very expensive or extravagant occasion," he said.
As the author of Queen Of Our Times, Robert Hardman said, "relevance is absolutely crucial to the monachy", and it's unlikely the royal family will be brought down by a revolution storming the gate, but instead "it's becoming irrelevant".
It's something that is occurring in the Caribbean, where Barbados ditched the monachy in 2021 and several others such as Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, and the Bahamas are considering leaving.
Jamaica's Prime Minister told Prince William last year they will be breaking ties too.
But it isn't just countries not wanting King Charles as their head of state. At most of his public appearances of late, anti-monachy crowds can be heard chanting "not my king".
So as Britain prepares for a tradition dating back 1,000 years, King Charles' biggest challenge could be simply surviving in the modern world.
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