Deborah Roberts has some mixed feelings about King Charles III — and his family — ahead of the coronation.
“[Charles] is austere and a little bit standoffish. His mother [Queen Elizabeth II] was, too, but we didn’t have a lot of female heads of state around the world when she was ruling,” the ABC journalist said in a recent Radio Times interview (via the Mirror).
“The royal family are just as messed up as any other family, and we kind of like seeing that,” she added.
With Charles’ crowning ceremony fast approaching, Roberts — who is married to “Today” show weatherman Al Roker — shared that she thinks having a king on the throne feels “more outdated” than a queen.
“Charles is a man who a lot of people associate with breaking Princess Diana’s heart,” she explained.
The “20/20” correspondent, 62, also believes that some people still take issue with the monarch’s second wife, Queen Camilla.
“Camilla is going to be referred to as Queen, not Queen Consort,” she noted, “so there’s that feeling that another woman is taking Diana’s place next to the king on the throne.”
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Charles married Diana in 1981.
The infamously unhappy union produced two children, Prince William and Prince Harry, before Charles and Diana separated in 1992. Their divorce was finalized in 1996, and just a year later, the princess was killed in a car accident at the age of 36.
The marriage was marred by vicious quarrels and infidelity by both parties, including Charles’ long-term relationship with Camilla, whom he married in 2005.
When Charles wed Camilla, it was announced that she planned to “use the title HRH the Princess Consort” when her husband acceded to the throne.
However, in the run-up to her Platinum Jubilee, Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, decided to revise Camilla’s future title.
“When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes king, I know you will give him and his wife, Camilla, the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as queen consort as she continues her own loyal service,” the late Queen, who died in September 2022, said last February.
Charles will officially be crowned king Saturday at Westminster Abbey in London.
