cocoming up king charles is a man with a battle on his hands. on the whole story. the king is acutely aware that they re only there for as long as the public wants them to be there. the institution is so unique. do you ever imagine that the monarchy would go away? good evening and welcome to the whole story. i m anderson cooper. final preparations underway in the united kingdom right now for the coronation of king charles iii and his wife, camilla, the queen consort. it s a ceremony steeped in tradition with some of the rituals dating back nearly a thousand years. it s only been televised once, however, when queen elizabeth ii was crowned nearly 70 years ago. she was one of the longest serving monarchs in british history with a different type of reign. the royal family splintered. and with a new and less popular monarch on the throne, many are questioning the role of this royal institution. cnn s erica hill traveled to london to meet with leading british l
coming up. king charles is a man with a battle on his hands. he s aware the public needs him to be there. it is so unique. do you ever imagine the monarchy would go away? it evening and welcome to the whole story on anderson cooper. final preparations are underway for king charles iii and his wife, queen camilla. it is a ceremony steeped in tradition dating back nearly 1000 years. it s only been televised once. when queen elizabeth the second was crowned nearly 70 years ago. she was one of the longest- serving and most celebrated monarchs in british history. her son faces a different challenge with a new, less popular monarch on the throne questioning the role of this institution. traveling to london to meet those close to the british family to understand what this means in a modern world. charles and camilla. the queen has died very sadly. for 70 years, this country has only known a queen. king charles iii is taking over. long live the king. reporter: for
what she was settling with from the outset. my dreams were calling at night. i dreamt of camilla the whole time. obsessed with camilla, totally. she adored prince charles. she wanted to be part of the royal family, to be a credit to the monarchy. she wanted to show the world, and she wanted to show camilla, look who i am, look what he s got. the true diana came out. she has a backbone. she knows she s being seen by camilla. i m about to marry the future king of england. diana frances, wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband? i have made it. i m here. you re there. i won. you lost. on monday we d gone to st. paul s for our last rehearsal, and that s when the camera lights were on full. a crowd of about 3,000 have built up. their enthusiasm unmistakable. prince charles was so relaxed, he nearly came to grief on the top step. and when it was over, prince charles clasped lady diana s hand reassuringly and unaffectedly. she was photogenic. she was young
it s a constant in my own mind. they challenge us to unite and both. reporter: many are hopeful king charles can achieve those goals. i think hopefully he will do a good job. reporter: his own history presents an unavoidable hurdle for the new bottom. it s just we ve got queen elizabeth and for it to also be a man that is not very well- liked i guess, because of the whole diana and camilla thing. with king charles, is dirty and clean laundry has been in the public for decades now. the queen was popular. prince charles, we already know too much of him.
the commonwealth has been a constant in my own life. it shares scale, challenges us to unite and be bold. while many are hopeful that king charles can achieve those goals i think hopefully he will do a good job. he s quite beloved in this country. his own history presents a hurdle for the new monarch. it s just that we ve gotten used to queen elizabeth and for it to also be a man that s not very well liked in the world, i guess, because of the whole diana/camilla thing. with king charles, his dirty and clean laundry has been in public for decades now. the queen didn t know anything about it. whereas, prince charles, we already know too much about him. it s impossible to talk about charles without mentioning the