‘A shining, successful example:’ Goodale says Queen laid groundwork for King Charles III

Regina’s Ralph Goodale — Canada’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom — says the death of Queen Elizabeth II will leave “a vacuum” for the monarchy.

“Change is always a difficult thing to cope with, including change at the level of the monarch. It’s never easy to replicate something that has gone before a reign like Her Majesty’s, which was so powerful and so successful,” Goodale said. “It leaves a vacuum that the Royal Family are going to have to work very hard to fill.”

Queen Elizabeth II died Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Her eldest son, Charles, will ascend to the throne and become King Charles III.

Her 70 years on the throne is something that might not be replicated again. But Goodale says King Charles III will have a perfect playbook to learn from on how to handle the monarchy, considering how well his mother handled it for decades.

“On the one hand, that is a huge challenge. On the other hand, they have a terrific example,” he stated. “The book for how to be a successful monarch was quite literally written by Queen Elizabeth II in the way she lived her life and discharged her responsibilities. She was a pillar of strength, stability and honour and was also ultra modern.”

Goodale said by Queen Elizabeth II being ahead of the political game on the throne, she was able to have a successful tenure.

“She was able to anticipate trends, move forward and get ahead of the curve rather than trying to always catch up,” Goodale added. “She anticipated change and was able to prepare for it. Those are skills and talents that her successors now and in the future are going to have to work very hard to emulate. But she is a shining, successful example to follow.”

Goodale said the Queen was also very relatable to people whom she met on her visits.

“She was an absolute master of every communications tool, both the old-fashioned kind and the new tools of social media. She had a way, even when you were dealing with her over Zoom or Twitter, of making you feel like she was in the room or you were in the room and she was talking to you personally,” he said.

“That is not an easy skill. But she developed it, kept up with technology and was very good at using it. It made her a very effective communicator.”