LONDON –
Rumi Verjee, a British businessman, philanthropist and member of the House of Lords whose relationship with the new monarch dates back 40 years, says King Charles III will be a different ruler from his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Speaking to CTV News lead anchor and senior editor Omar Sachedina, Verjee said he has been “lucky” to meet the King “many times”. Verjee was in Westminster Hall on Monday when the King addressed members of both Houses of Parliament for the first time.
“It is a historic occasion to see a change in the monarchy,” Verjee said. “In fact, I felt like he had this huge weight of history.”
While Verjee acknowledges that the King has had “many years to prepare” to take on the role of Sovereign, he said there is still a lot of pressure when the time finally comes.
“Just like the passing of the Queen, we knew it was going to happen, but actually it’s still a shock when it happens. And I think for him he’s been preparing for so many years, it’s still a huge shock,” Verjee said.
Verjee added that the King’s mother has just died, which means he has to take on these new responsibilities during a time of personal sadness and grief.
“I lost a mother and I know how I felt at the time. I couldn’t imagine having to face the cameras and face the public,” she said.
Having known the King for years, Verjee said he is a “very sensitive and emotional man”. He added that the King has “huge boots to fill” and he knows it.
“Imagine being in this job and you can’t speak your mind, you can’t show what you feel and you have to be completely on top of everything,” Verjee said. “I think that’s going to be the hardest job for him.”
Verjee said the Queen was “really good” at hiding her emotions and “never slipped up” to let others know what she was thinking. The King is not like that, she said.
“At the end of the day, he is a monarch, but he is also a human being,” he said.
However, Verjee said the King will be just as committed to the responsibilities of being Sovereign as the Queen was.
“(The queen) was incredibly dedicated to the job that she inherited and was assigned to her, and I think King Charles has the same … sense of public duty,” Verjee said in an interview on Tuesday.
THE FATE OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE MONARCHY
Despite being a sensitive man, Verjee said the King is also dogmatic when it comes to issues that concern him, such as the environment and combating climate change.
“He’s been talking about the environment for years and years and years, and people laughed at him,” he said.
“I think now, particularly with his new role, people are seeing that this is a man who has strong views, he’ll stick to them if he thinks they’re right and he’s extraordinary.”
While there has been much discussion about the “modernization” of the monarchy by the King, there has been no definition of what that modernization would look like. Verjee said doing so will be “difficult” but believes the King “will pull it off”.
“I think it will be a modernizer,” Verjee said. “He will face many challenges as the Queen, but when you think about it, he has been prepared for this job for years and years.”
He says that the King is a “great listener” and considers the thoughts of others in his work.
“He is very in tune with public opinion,” Verjee said. “I think the biggest benefit we have with the monarchy is that they can take a much longer view than politicians.”
“He will think 10, 20, 30 years ahead, which is a great asset for us as a country.”
Verjee describes the King as “very knowledgeable and very caring”, someone who is keenly aware of current global issues.
“It’s scary when you actually go and meet him. You realize he’s a guy who has so much wisdom and knowledge and has seen so many people and yet you have to give your opinion,” Verjee explained. “And he values that opinion, which is also great.”
When it comes to Commonwealth nations looking to drop the British monarch as their head of state, Verjee said those are “more political issues” that the King won’t really be a part of.
“I think he will have sympathy or empathy with what has happened in history, and I think he has shown that these are difficult issues, but I think these are more political issues today. And I think again it will be a very difficult thing for the king. Carlos doesn’t… express his views, but he can’t do it publicly,” he said.
MEETING WITH KING CARLOS III
While he can’t remember their exact first meeting, Verjee said he met the King “very early”, when Verjee was around 25 years old.
“I have been lucky enough to sit next to him at dinner on several occasions. He is a very kind and caring person,” he said.
Verjee recalled dinner at Clarence House with the then prince. Protocol dictates that members of the Royal Family must first speak to the person on the right for the first course, then the person sitting next to them on the left for the second course.
However, the now King went against the rule when he noticed a problem with Verjee’s plate.
“The food came and there was pork on the plate. And he says to me, ‘Rumi, didn’t they ask you what you want? And I said, ‘No.’ off the plate,” explained Verjee. He doesn’t eat pork for religious reasons.
“But this is the kind of thing that he notices: this attention to detail and care…not many people would have noticed…(he) is very aware of culture and faith.”
When it comes to his reign, Verjee said the King will seek to cement his own legacy, a part of his mother’s.
“Knowing him as a man, I think he will look for the difference he can make. Because he doesn’t want to be just this figurehead; he wants to leave the world a better place,” he said.