LEGACY IN MOTION

With the cameras rolling, King Charles celebrates a half-century of work redefining what royal duty means

- JACK ROYSTON

A DECADE AFTER TAKING HIS CAREER-DEFINING YOUTH project global, King Charles III is turning the focus of his reign toward legacy.

The king has had a dramatic few years marked by the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, the hope and renewal of his coronation in 2023, followed by a cancer diagnosis in 2024. And 2025 has been blighted by the scandal around his brother, now reduced to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

Now, though, the king is about to enter a new phase, focusing on one of his biggest achievements—his work on youth opportunity. It all starts on November 27 when The King’s Trust International marks its 10th anniversary. And next year, its parent organization, The King’s Trust, celebrates 50 years as one of Charles’ top priorities. To mark the occasion, a Netflix camera crew will be following him on a number of high-profile visits.

For Charles, though, these are more than just charities—they represent the moment he redefined the monarchy, shifting the focus from ribbon cutting to social action way back in the 1970s, when he was Prince of Wales. It was a huge risk and he had to push past opposition from Queen Elizabeth II’s palace staff. But he succeeded and the charities he created became a gold standard around the world.

“The establishment thought it was a risky thing for him to be doing,” an aide told Newsweek, “because a royal’s role was to travel around places, smiling, waving, snipping ribbons, becoming ambassadors to far-flung places.

“And that’s what their role was, not to get actively involved in trying to engage in social action, through their own organizations, with their own name above the door.