Is the monarchy doing enough to evolve 1 year after Queen Elizabeth II’s death?

The monarchy has faced an ebb and flow in terms of public support, but even as King Charles III enters his second year on the throne he still faces low popularity.

One year ago, Queen Elizabeth II’s death brought an end to one of the world’s longest reigns of a monarch and second-longest in British history.

But royal experts say those hoping for a large evolution by the British Royal Family in just one year may need to temper their expectations.

“It has been a year and despite what people think, a year is actually a very short period of time,” said Ed Wang, a royal commentator.

Wang said there have not been a lot of opportunities yet for the Royal Family to show such change, but noted King Charles III has made some differences.

One example, Wang says, is that Charles is more open about his emotions. He says Charles, “Wears his emotions on his sleeves,” pointing not only his first message as monarch following his mother’s death but also his statements related to the wildfires in the Northwest Territories and British Columbia.

“I think those are key differences already between how he runs messaging from the monarchy versus Queen Elizabeth,” Wang said.

It’s not only communication, however, that has changed.

While the Royal Family has been careful about not stepping into the political realm, the King has shown support for a variety of matters including reconciliation — which can range from Indigenous people in Canada and Australia, to the Maori and non-Maori people of New Zealand — and most recently, backing research into the monarchy’s ties to slavery.