King Charles the Change-maker? I beg to disagree, your majesty

A year since the Queen’s death and her successor is being hailed as a man in motion, a moderniser who’s shaking up the monarchy. But as Charles flits between his ten enormous homes and palaces, is he really the man he’d like us to think he is, asks Alan Rusbridger

There was much speculation among the royal watchers as to whether Charles, after decades studying for the CEO role, would be a caretaker manager or a new broom (PA)

It’s a year since Charles became King. He is said to be an old man in a hurry. If you are tempted to ask the Calvin Coolidge question, “How can they tell?” – attributed to Dorothy Parker on being informed the 30^th US president was dead – I’m here to help you.

I have no more original sources, I suspect, than most people claiming to be in the know. My knowledge comes from assorted expert royal commentators who have themselves presumably been briefed by impeccable, if anonymous, courtiers primed with an authorised version.

Well, firstly, King Charles has started to use Buckingham Palace again for royal receptions and the occasional dinner (you may not, like me, have appreciated that it had been uninhabited, at least by the late Queen, since March 2020 – that’s 18 months or so of neglect for many of its 775 rooms). So that’s good news.