It is the cost of living crisis that will present the greatest challenge to the monarchy in the coming years

In his sermon at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, the Archbishop of Canterbury made reference to her example of public service, and appeared to contrast it, unfavourably, with that set by the political classes: “People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer. But in all cases, those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are long forgotten.”

Justin Welby was entirely right to echo, once again, the paeans of praise for the Queen’s record of public service. As he put it: “Few leaders receive the outpouring of love that we have seen.” One of the more surprising aspects of the last few momentous days has indeed been the extent to which the late Queen was respected and even loved around the world. German television channels cleared their schedules for the funeral service. President Biden said she reminded him of his own mother.

President Macron was elegiac: “To you, she was your Queen. To us, she was The Queen. She will be with all of us forever.” From the other side of the planet, the prime minister of Fiji, Frank Bainimarama, came to deliver a warm tribute: “Fijian hearts are heavy this morning as we bid farewell to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We will always treasure the joy of her visits to Fiji along with every moment that her grace, courage and wisdom were a comfort and inspiration to our people, even a world away.”

The archbishop’s words had a more parochial and political echo, though. For reasons that are all too obvious, they were also taken by some to be a gratuitous slight on the reputation of Boris Johnson, who was present in Westminster Abbey with his wife, Carrie, along with the other surviving prime ministers of Queen Elizabeth’s reign.

But the real worth of the archbishop’s words was as a straightforward injunction to his majesty’s ministers and other politicians to emulate the Queen’s example of service and of a temperate demeanour.

Even by the usual roughhouse standards of politics, the last decade or so has been difficult – and traumatic. After the financial crisis came the “age of austerity”, then the Scottish referendum on independence, then Brexit, and now the cost of living crisis – to name just the bigger dislocations. As we now reflect, the monarchy provided the nation with something of an anchor, and the Queen’s diamond and platinum jubilees were joyful reminders of the strength of her role as head of the nation.

Brexit has spawned “cluster bombs” of parallel social and economic controversies: the so-called culture wars. These are now overlaid onto more traditional class-based divisions and political affiliations to create an ever more fractious, kaleidoscopically divided society. As the cost of living crisis has intensified, and inflation and industrial action become a feature of national life, strife has spread into the industrial sphere.

It is indeed the cost of living crisis that will present the greatest challenge to the nation and the monarchy in the coming years.

It would be nice to think that the spirit of Archbishop Welby’s words – and the Queen’s example – would induce a kinder, gentler politics; one where the idea that we have more in common than that which divides us actually makes some difference to public discourse. That was often the substance behind Queen Elizabeth’s broadcasts to the nation in hard times.

Yet the reality is that such goodwill quickly evaporates when politics as usual is resumed. The next few months will certainly see Liz Truss’s embattled government trying to cling to power, and the opposition parties doing their best to dislodge it. No surprises there.

To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment sign up to our free weekly Voices Dispatches newsletter by clicking here

In such divided times, King Charles will be faced with challenges sometimes even greater than those his mother had to contend with, not forgetting that the transcendent crisis of our times, the climate emergency, has hardly disappeared. He will be attacked for being “political”, and will need to take care not to be drawn into party politics. For some, even expressions of compassion or concern from him will be seized upon and twisted. His will be a treacherous path.

Behind the scenes, in quiet audiences with political leaders – in nuanced, very carefully weighted public interventions – the King can follow the exemplary lead of his mother to remind the politicians of their own responsibilities, and the dangers and costs of national division.

In the familiar formula laid down by the constitutional scholar Walter Bagehot in the 19th century, King Charles has the right “to be consulted, to encourage and to warn”. He has all of his training and the example of his mother to draw upon. We wish him well.