Now that Britain’s latest prime minister has gone through the ritual of ‘kissing hands’ with the monarch – these days, a small bow tends to be the preferred option instead – there will be a great deal of whispering in Buckingham Palace as to what the relationship between the King and his latest first minister is going to be like. The first photograph of the two shaking hands showed the new prime minister smiling broadly and enthusiastically, and Charles, understandably, seeming rather more restrained. This may be a preview of things to come. Since Charles inherited the throne a shade under four years ago, Burnham will be his fourth prime minister – a fairly rapid number in what has been a decidedly unsettled time – and while everyone must hope that the relationship between the two is amicable and productive, there are some potential pitfalls ahead.
Burnham’s USP, such as it is, is stripping away a great deal of formality from the office of PM. This has promised to manifest itself in such initiatives as not wearing a suit and tie except when wholly obligatory, his refusing to leave his family home in Manchester and adopting a more relaxed, accessible style. It is not beyond imagination that he might seek to embrace King Charles, rather than bow to him. And while Charles has been responsible for some limited attempts to modernise the monarchy, he is still a great believer in the formal trappings of the institution and is likely to react poorly to Burnham-led mateyness.
