King Charles faces 'uphill battle' to secure trust, suggests former Kirk moderator

The Very Rev Dr Lorna Hood said opinion polls indicate the new King has ‘much work to do’

Opinion polls suggest the new King faces an "uphill battle" to secure the trust of the people, a former moderator of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly told a special coronation service at Glasgow Cathedral.

The Very Rev Dr Lorna Hood, one of the King’s Chaplains in Scotland, said polls indicate he has "much work to do". But she said Charles had already exhibited “dedication and unstinting service” as Prince of Wales.

Dr Hood made the comments at a service of thanksgiving to mark the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

King Charles

More than 18 million people in the UK tuned in to watch the ceremony on TV on Saturday, while tens of thousands turned out in central London to witness the pomp and pageantry. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the King and Queen were “deeply touched” by the nation’s celebration of their historic coronation.

However, the National Centre for Social Research recently found public support for the monarchy had fallen to a historic low.

Dr Hood, who kept vigil next to the late Queen’s coffin when it lay at rest in St Giles’ Cathedral last year, referenced such polling as she addressed the special service in Glasgow Cathedral yesterday.

She said: "Our new King Charles, anointed behind an embroidered canopy, harking back to the Old Testament with the anointing of Solomon by Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet, pledged to be worthy of his calling – and in a new act, rather controversially sought our pledge, our homage to him. The very fact that such a request caused an outcry from so many quarters only proves that we live in a new era.

"We are bombarded by opinion polls. Almost daily for the last few weeks, pollsters have pestered the general public on our thoughts on the monarchy. Phone-in programmes have sought our attitudes. And of course, depending on how the question is asked, they range from support to against to sheer indifference.

"When the late Queen ascended the throne, earning the people's trust was almost axiomatic. It's very different for her son in this Carolean era.

"It would seem he has much work to do, if we believe what the polls would tell us. And believing what the polls would say, it would seem to be an uphill battle for him.

"But this loss of trust is not confined to the monarchy. We don't need opinion polls to tell us that those in power register low on the trust meter.

"We have lost trust in politicians, regardless of their political party. And not just politicians – bankers, industrialists, energy providers, educationalists, the police, judiciary, medics – I could go on. And we in the church, whatever our religious persuasion, are faring no better."

She added: "I doubt if a single body represented here has the full trust of the public. How can we regain trust? For once it is lost, it is difficult to recover – but not impossible."

Dr Hood said the King had "stressed the service that the monarch offers to the people", adding: “His very first words on coronation day were, ‘I come not to be served, but to serve.’ But just as our new King seeks to earn the trust of his people through his dedication and unstinting service, which he has already exhibited as Prince of Wales, we have to trust each other and we have to work to be worthy of each other’s trust.”