Opinions of the monarchy put entirely aside, His Majesty King Charles III is a tough watch. While your mileage with the subject matter may vary considerably, the difficulty is rather because of the painfully amateur delivery of the 75-minute straight-to-DVD doc.
A combination of poorly, inconsistently cropped footage and images are the main offenders, lending the film the uncomfortable feeling of something slapped together haphazardly for some pro-monarchy YouTube channel. Footage from TV news broadcasts is chopped up in such a way so as to cover any channel branding or tickers, while low-resolution assets used feel like the film is buffering even when viewed on a DVD. Nothing about the film feels polished or well put together.
Marketed as “the definitive documentary film of King Charles III’s life” released only months after his coronation seems a joke, but it is indicative of how rushed this film is – and it feels it. There is no real insight in the film itself, either – nothing discussed is revelatory or interesting. This is a by-the-numbers Wikipedia entry-like film, and a transparent cash-grab.
Not even the staunchest Royalist will stand by this shoddy straight-to-DVD flick.
Synopsis
At the age of 74, Charles Philip Arthur George, was the longest serving heir apparent to accede to the British Throne, after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II (who died on 8th Sept 2022). This brand-new documentary looks back over his life, to see what has made him into the man he is today. The film follows his life right through to and including footage from, his Coronation on May 6th 2023. With new interviews from those who know and have worked with him. This is the definitive documentary film of King Charles III’s life.