The Oldest Person in History to Became King

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King Charles the III, formerly known as Prince Charles, waited a long time to be king, perhaps too long? The royals in Great Britain, a business, a tourist attraction, a family as dysfunctional as many of ours, crowned their new king and queen.

King Charles’s coronation was a three-day extravaganza of ceremonies, full of celebrations and tradition.  The long weekend was expected to cost British taxpayers at least £100 million (round about $125 million).

While Brexit turned into Bre-gret for many, and while a considerable amount of small businesses in England are struggling, or went belly up after they found out that the trade business got trickier without the European Union, while many grocery shelves in the UK are empty because export and import is now more complicated, and while the world around them is crumbling, the Royals celebrated their new monarch.

My neighbor, usually a fan of the royal rumble, did not watch. “She is a homewrecker, and he is a cheater,” she told me when I didn’t ask. She has the tendency to give me the news and her opinion without me asking for it.

She wanted to know if I would watch the royal circus on TV, which amused me endlessly. You would think she should know me better.

But what hardly anybody knows is that I listened to Queen Elizabeth’s New Year’s speech every year, and appreciated her grace, her wisdom, and her optimism, especially in the last years when politics here in the US got too loud, too nasty, and too unreal. I needed some stability -even when it came from far away.

I didn’t tune into King Charles III’s speech this year, and I didn’t realize it until just now. I can’t even say why, it’s like I have no use for him and it didn’t even cross my mind. May the Royal Rumble forgive me!

I chuckled when I heard that his 75-year-old wife Camilla, the love of his life, will be crowned Queen. They had a hard road to walk before their love found approval. They know each other for over 50 years and now their love got a happy ending. Together on the throne, until death will take one of them away, which, depending on one’s beliefs, might just be temporary -or not.

I do wonder if such an old king is good for business, because let’s face it, that’s what the royals are. A brand, a business, a firm with lots of money. There is much at stake, and because of his high age, I just assumed Prince Charles would give up his right to be king so his son William would become the new king, and would reign for decades to come.

Turns out he doesn’t even have the power to do that. While the right to be king (or queen) is an inherited right within the family who believes their blood is oh so different and more valuable from ours, the right to deny the throne is not in their hands but in the hands of the parliament. Go figure, they really have no power whatsoever.

I assume Great Britain will accept King Charles III. and all the royal fans will cheer for him and celebrate him and Queen Camilla as they did with Queen Elizabeth II. and Prince Philip by her side.

Deep down inside me, the core that’s not as old as the number on paper proves I am, I do wonder what the British youth thinks?

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I look at the House and Senate here in the United States and I would love to not just send some, but many of them into their not so well deserved retirement. I writing not deserved not because I am sarcastic or cynical (which I can be) but simply because most of them hardly worked during their lifetime at all.

When I look at our next election then it seems to come down to a fight between two old white men -again. The President then will be 81 and the defeated Ex-President will be 78.

For the longest time, mainly because I was young, I thought age is just a number, and then I started aging myself. Let me tell you, it’s not just a number, it’s a real downslide from youth into an older version of the young woman I once was.

I defended the theory that one is just as old as one feels in their mind until my head got older as well.

Don’t get me wrong, aging is beautiful, considering you are healthy enough to have a wonderful quality of life but it is different from being young or middle-aged. I will turn 60 this year, which I find hard to believe, even though I think it’s extra special to be that age because too many of my friends have already left.

I can work as a horse, but I feel it for days afterward. I can still run and goof around, but there is a price to pay. The mind gets slower, and the body enjoys resting a bit more.

So what do I think about a 74-year-old king and an 80-year-old President?

Or more importantly, what do you think?

To be honest, I couldn’t really articulate what I was feeling, and couldn’t pinpoint my mixed emotions, until I read a comment in the New York Times.

If you think age doesn’t matter:
How do you feel if the surgeon who will operate on you or your loved one would be 81 years old?
How would you feel, knowing that the pilot who flies your plane is 74 years old?

Without hesitation, I have to say in both scenarios I would prefer a (much) younger one.

I believe in wisdom, experience, knowledge, and understanding. I believe in tolerance and patients. I believe in listening and hearing. I believe parts of me got better with age. But, I also believe in tiredness and a natural slowdown caused by aging.

I believe, just because you think you can, doesn’t mean you should!

I wish we would have an age limit for politicians and judges as well as a term limit. Nobody should be appointed or voted into a public position for life.

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