King Charles III will be crowned without a discussion on what the public wants from the institution [Adam Shultz]

MORE than 30 street parties are planned for across Camden this weekend and those enthused by the coronation of King Charles III will be hoping the weather forecasters are wrong and the rain stays away.

No doubt, whatever the skies provide, the much talked about Great British spirit will ensure much fun is had for all those celebrating as the new monarch is crowned.

Over the past fortnight our newspaper has received scores of press releases from businesses looking to promote their products with advertising cynically disguised as potential news lines about the coronation event.

But at its most charming, a national event is a chance for neighbourly companionship and shared experience in a city where too many people feel lonely and isolated.

The historic pictures from London during Elizabeth II’s coronation are still a fascinating window into history and no doubt some of the images captured over the bank holiday will provide the same for future generations.

Critics of an unelected head of state and the £150million being spent on the pageantry, however, will argue that there are other ways to bring a community together and the passing of a Queen who had held the position for such a long time deserved a mature conversation about the future of the country’s structure.

There has, of course, been no such thing and no real attempts from the government or the royal household to ask the nation what it wants from the monarchy – for it could take many different forms or no form at all. Instead, the wheels have quickly turned under the assumption that there has been no appetite for reform since the last coronation in 1953.

This may prove to be a telling misstep – especially at a time when the contrast between the haves and have nots has never appeared so stark.

It may seem crude to compare the queues for food banks with the expense of a coronation but those who wish the monarchy to thrive for ever more should be wary of not only what the PR professionals call the optics but also the reality of day to day desperation.

Despite playing understudy to his largely popular mother for so long, King Charles III does not appear to entertain the same relationship with the public.

And like so many institutions, there is a risk of a growing detachment with younger people – who might have found more appeal in a rebranded, slimmed down royalty rather than a man in his 70s, who often appears almost comically irritable.

He also has the task of trying to excite the next generation when distaste for Prince Andrew’s behaviour understandably appears unhealed.

By refusing to have that conversation now about what Britain wants from its king, the royals may end up being bigger losers in the long term