King Charles has "broken down barriers" when it comes to Royal Family relationships: expert

He's changing the status quo

King Charles III and Prince George of Wales (L) on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, London, following the coronation on May 06, 2023 in London, England. The Coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the other Commonwealth realms takes place at Westminster Abbey today. Charles acceded to the throne on 8 September 2022, upon the death of his mother, Elizabeth II.
(Image credit: Photo by Samir Hussein / Getty)

King Charles grew up during quite a traditional time, when it was perhaps less common to be openly affectionate with family members.

But as his life has progressed, Charles has built a different kind of relationship with the members of the Royal Family that are closest to him, namely his children and grandchildren—at least according to one royal expert.

"Charles, growing up in the post-war era of Britain, was in a completely different situation to his children and his grandchildren because Britain was obviously coming out of a very dark period of war," Russell Myers said on the Pod Save the King podcast (via Express).

"And certainly, his relationships with his family were very, very different to the relationships that he has with his own children and grandchildren. We talk about a British stiff upper lip and that certainly was archetypal of the war era.

"Charles has really tried to break down the barriers of that with his family and to create a different feeling, certainly with the younger members."

Express reports that the King had quite complicated relationships with both of his parents, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, and of course we know that his relationships with his sons Prince William and Prince Harry haven't always been smooth either.

Still, these days, the King appears to want to forge a strong bond with his close family, including his five grandchildren, George, Charlotte, Louis, Archie and Lilibet.

This desire was on full display during the King's Coronation weekend, when his eldest grandchild, Prince George, who is 9, served as one of the King's four Pages of Honour. This was George's most important official role yet.

As part of this, it's been reported that the young royal managed to persuade his grandfather to change the traditional Page of Honour uniform, which originally included tights. The fact that Charles agreed to swap the white breeches for trousers, per the Mirror, proves he's willing to listen to his family members and meet their needs when he can.

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.