Charles III

Charles III (or Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor if you're an anti-monarchist) is the ruling monarch of the United Kingdom (made up of England, Scotland, Wales and a bit of Ireland) and dependencies (Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Bermuda, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia) and the head of state of the following sovereign states that constitute a subset of the Commonwealth of Nations known as the Commonwealth realm:
And that should worry you!
==Family==
He is the eldest son of the previously thought to be immortal Elizabeth II, was married to the late Princess Diana between 1981 until 1996, and married Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005. He has two sons: William, the Prince of Wales; and Harry, the Duke of Sussex. He finally got his hands on the crown at the age of 73, which makes him the oldest British monarch on accession.
==Snake oil and crankery==
Oh yes he does. Though to be fair, those ears could be capable of hearing things most others are not. That or the bit between the ears.
He supports and sold complementary medicines. Professor Edzard Ernst, Britain's first professor of complementary medicine, who spent eighteen years at Exeter University leading a unit that subjects alternative medicines to thorough scientific scrutiny, called Charles a "snake oil salesman"Professor calls Prince Charles, others "snake-oil salesmen", Reuters for endorsing the "Duchy Herbals" detox tincture in partnership with Nelsons & Co.Latest News: Nelsons Manufactures New Duchy Herbals Range Of Traditional Natural Herbal Tinctures Nelsons (archived from February 18, 2009). The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency subsequently found that the products made false claims and had to have their advertising amended.Prince's firm told to amend ads by Aidan Jones (20 Mar 2009 20.01 EDT) The Guardian. The products, which included a "detox" seem to have quietly dropped out of existence and are no longer to be found on the Nelsons website.
Charles also "treats" his farm animals with homeopathy.Prince Charles: I use homeopathy in animals to cut antibiotic use by Sarah Boseley (12 May 2016 14.46 EDT) The Guardian. In 2023 Charles appointed to the head of the royal medical household. Despite having an actual medical degree, Dixon advocates for a variety of quackeries: homeopathy, "thought field therapy" and "Christian healing".King Charles has appointed a homeopath. Why do the elite put their faith in snake oil? The aristocracy and celebrities are in thrall to medical quackery that while useless can be far from harmless by Martha Gill (17 Dec 2023 04.30 EST) The Guardian. This, despite even the doctor of his ancestor, Queen Victoria, in 1853 calling homeopathy, "an outrage to human reason".Homoeopathy: BMJ Debates Homeopathy: 1990s or 1840s? (1999) BMJ 319:1115. doi:10.1136/bmj.319.7217.1115.
He has promoted coffee enemas,Now Charles backs coffee cure for cancer: Angry doctors warn of dangers as Prince of Wales lends support to controversial alternative treatment by Jo Revill (26 June 2004 20.07 EDT) The Guardian. which have no known medical benefit but have numerous risks (burning, rectal perforation, infection and electrolyte imbalance).
As well as lobbying against GM crops,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46844454 Charles is also a fan of organic farming, which he believes is 'the future' for agriculture.Prince Charles says the ‘very future of humanity’ may depend on organic farming as he warns ‘fertilizers and pesticides mean the world has only sixty harvests left’ by Rebecca English (22 June 2017) Daily Mail. Incidentally, since 1990 he had a company called 'Duchy Original' which sold such products. While it could be lauded that the profits of such are donated to charity, people then recall it's a charity which promotes organic farming and other neo-traditionalist pet projects. It's this charity which amongst other things, took £1m from the Bin Laden familyPrince Charles accepted £1m from Osama Bin Laden's family (31 July 2022) BBC. and £2.5m from a former Qatari Prime Minister. This one personally. And in cash.Prince Charles: No inquiry into £2.5m cash donation to his charity (20 July 2022) BBC. Said charities have also been spotted taking donations from dubious types on occasion.https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/sep/19/prince-charles-cash-for-honours-scandal-grows-with-fresh-allegations There have also been allegations of 'donations for honours', particularly in regards to a Saudi gentleman who ended up with an CBE.https://news.sky.com/story/prince-charless-aide-steps-down-following-claims-he-offered-to-help-secure-an-honour-for-rich-saudi-donor-12399523
Architecture and planning has also drawn his ire,https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2009/apr/23/architecture-prince-charles-design?picture=346370871 such as calling particular buildings 'carbuncles' and using his own influence and contacts to (sometimes) get his way.https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/jun/15/prince-charles-richard-rogers-architecture Now, while some of the points raised are legitimate ones made by it can be said his own alternative is a vaguely creepy, vapid neo-traditionalist edition.Local History: Poundbury, BBC
Charles has blamed scientific materialism for the decline of communal identity in Britain.The Prince of Wales: A Biography by Jonathan Dimbleby (1994) William Morrow and Company. ISBN 068812996X. He has argued for 'holistic' approaches, along the lines of Carl Jung and James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis. He has said that he supports science-based medicine, but that it should be accompanied with 'healing', going so far as to have a private dinner for both medical practitioners and alternative medicine advocates that ultimately proved inconsequential. As Charles continued to promote this 'complementary' approach to medicine, he received pointed and public criticism from both medical practitioners and the press while receiving many personal letters from individuals supporting him. In response to the outpouring of letters, Charles was swayed by argumentum ad populum and confirmation bias:
==State interference==
As Prince, Charles often wrote to government ministers about matters that interest him. This would not normally be an issue, but he has been known to try to interfere in government policy.Prince Charles's letters to ministers should be disclosed, judges rule, The Guardian The Information Tribunal ruled that the Government should release copies of his controversial "black spider" letters to Ministers in 2012, but the Attorney General vetoed the release, claiming that letting normal people read his views might damage his "ability to perform as King".Attorney general blocks disclosure of Prince Charles letters to ministers, The Guardian The ministerial veto enables ministers to ignore Tribunal rulings if they find them to be embarrassing contrary to the national interest. A later ruling by the UK Supreme Court in 2015 required the publication of the letters.UK Supreme Court require government to release Prince Charles 'black spider' letters The failed battle to keep the black spider letters secret eventually cost the government £400,000 in legal expenses.'Black spider memos': Second batch of Prince. Heir to the throne lobbied about homeopathy, rainforests and hospital food in 17 letters to ministers including Alan Johnson and Andy Burnham by Rob Evans & Robert Booth (4 Jun 2015 09.54 EDT) The Guardian.
In fact, he even has the right to prevent bills being presented to Parliament if they conflict with his business interests.
Prince Charles has been offered a veto over 12 government bills since 2005, The Guardian
The Government is trying to cover this up,Secret papers show extent of senior royals' veto over bills too, as it touches on a wide variety of policy areas that doesn't.
A spokesman for the (then) Prince said: "In modern times, the Prince of Wales has never refused to consent to any bill affecting Duchy of Cornwall interests, unless advised to do so by ministers. Every instance of the prince's consent having been sought and given to legislation is a matter of public record."
Unsurprisingly, much worry has been (quietly) aired regarding whether Charles will effectively 'know his place' as a constitutional monarchhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jun/04/unlike-the-queen-king-charles-will-have-no-sense-of-caution-only-of-entitlement. However, as of 2024 it can be said at least publicly, he has 'behaved' as Kinghttps://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/king-charles-proves-he-is-no-meddling-monarch-in-speech-to-parliament-bs292gl8m and has managed to 'steady the ship' somewhat during the transition between Elizabeth to himselfhttps://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/latest-attitudes-towards-royal-family-january-2024, though the slide towards tacit republicanism (or perhaps more correctly described as 'monarchist apathy') continueshttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/28/public-support-monarchy-historic-low-poll-reveals, which to be fair might not be his fault, personally.
==Religion==
The Monarch is the formal head of the Church of England, with the title "Defender of the Faith", although administrative power resides with the Archbishop of Canterbury, who also crowns the monarch. Charles has spoken of being a "defender of faiths" who stands up for all religious people rather than purely defending Anglicanism against Popery (which was the historical role going back to the Protestant Reformation).Prince Charles is "alarmed" by the radicalisation of young Muslim men, The Journal, Ireland, 8 Feb 2015 No mention of whether this includes atheism, though.
==Other stuff==
Is not-so-well known for his hauteur. Mainly due to his pretty controlling manner regarding his relationship with the presshttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/prince-charles-the-15page-contract-that-reveals-how-the-prince-of-wales-tries-to-control-the-media-a6756541.html which means the average British pleb never gets just how distorted the public image is. Veteran correspondent Jonathan Dimbleby once reported that the Prince "has accumulated a number of certainties about the state of the world and does not relish contradiction." Um, great.
==See also==
*Princess Märtha Louise, his Norwegian counterpart
==External links==
*The snake oil in question (archived from March 25, 2009)
*His hilarious Twitter account
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Alternative medicine
Category:Billionaires
Category:British people
Category:Environmentalism
Category:Living people
Category:Homeopathy
Category:Monarchs
Category:Paranormal
Category:Protestants
Category:Pseudoscience promoters
Category:Religious leaders
Category:Royalty