Barry Blitt’s “Room at the Top”

New Yorker covers don’t always reflect current events, but some staged proceedings, both anachronistic and immemorial, can be catnip for cartoonists and commentators alike. King Charles III automatically acceded to the throne when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died on September 8, 2022. Charles, the longest-serving heir apparent in Britain’s history, spent seven decades preparing for the role of monarch. He became the next in line to reign over the United Kingdom at three years old, when Elizabeth became queen, in 1952.

Charles was proclaimed king the Saturday after his mother’s death, last fall, when the accession proclamation was read out from the balcony of St. James’s Palace. But—like so much of the sustained pomp and circumstance of royal proceedings—the pinnacle of his accession is still to come: on May 6, 2023, Charles will be crowned during a ceremony at Westminster Abbey. In the morning, Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, will begin the king’s procession, travelling from Buckingham Palace to the Abbey in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach. At 11 A.M., Charles will take his seat in the Coronation Chair. Over the course of the ceremony, he will take the Coronation Oath, he will be anointed with chrism oil, and he will be blessed and consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury. And then a five-pound gold crown, used exclusively for the moment of coronation, will be placed atop the seventy-four-year-old’s head—at which point Charles will, at long last, by all royal metrics, be king.

“Boris Johnson’s Busy Week,” Blitt’s Kvetchbook, (August 30, 2019); “The Queen of England, Activated,” Blitt’s Kvetchbook, (July 25, 2022)

For the cover of the May 8, 2023, issue, the artist Barry Blitt anticipated the moment in all its seriousness, ridiculousness, and pathos. This week, I asked Blitt if he had any advice for Britain’s fortieth monarch.

You lived in London after art school. What was that experience like?

It was eye-opening and life-changing. I hadn’t spent so much time alone and away from home before. It was the early nineteen-eighties, there was a wave of daring and exciting illustration coming out of the U.K., and I wanted to be part of it. But I hadn’t really settled on an artistic style yet, and I wound up finding work as a ‘visualizer’ at a big ad agency—drawing storyboards for commercials, etc. I knew that wasn’t for me when I was asked to ‘make the lettuce look crispier.’ But I loved the culture—the music and the art, the graphic design, even the signage. I think it was a depressed time—the Falklands War was going on, a lot of the people I got to know were pretty dedicated alcoholics. Not all, though—I met the singer Donovan through a friend, and got to play some piano with him. I saw a lot of art, and hung around with editorial illustrators when I could. I returned to Canada after moping around for a year, and put a portfolio of cartoons and drawings together.

“The Fine Points of Prince Charles’s Finery, Explained,” Blitt’s Kvetchbook, (March 19, 2021)

Pick a favorite royal.

Royal Tenenbaum, for sure.

Any words of wisdom for Charles as he embarks on his royal reign?

I thought you’d never ask. I wouldn’t presume to give him advice on anything other than illustration—I think he’s a dedicated watercolorist, isn’t he? So I’d tell him to always wash his brushes after he’s done, and that a pale yellow underpainting is a nice effect. Also, I’d encourage him to send an invoice out immediately if he’s sold a painting—don’t wait too long, don’t be like me.

If you were king for a day, what would you do?

Hmm. I don’t think the king has any power over anything meaningful these days, so I wouldn’t really be able to enact change or issue any edicts—my options would be limited. Maybe I could get some shirts pressed right away.

See below for more covers about royals: