With ceremonies over, King Charles III faces biggest task

By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The cannons have sounded; the bells have rung; the mourners have paid their respects. Now King Charles III faces the task of preserving a 1,000-year-old monarchy that his mother nurtured for seven decades but that faces an uncertain future. The challenge is immense. Personal affection for the queen meant that the monarchy’s role in British society was rarely debated in recent years. But now that she’s gone, the royal family faces questions about whether it is still relevant in a modern, multi-cultural nation that looks very different than it did when Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1952.