The cannons have sounded, the bells have rung and the mourners have .

Now King Charles III faces the task of preserving a 1,000-year-old monarchy that his mother nurtured for seven decades but that faces an uncertain future. The challenge is immense.

Personal affection for the queen meant that the monarchyB次元官网网址檚 role in British society was rarely debated in recent years. But now that sheB次元官网网址檚 gone, the royal family faces questions about whether it is still relevant in a modern, multicultural nation that looks very different than it did when Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1952.

Amid a global re-examination of the history of colonialism and slavery that has seen protesters tear down or deface statues in British cities and universities like Oxford and Cambridge change their course offerings, an institution that was once the symbol of the British Empire is likely to face renewed scrutiny.

Charles will try to B次元官网网址渕aintain continuityB次元官网网址� while also signaling that the royals are prepared to change, said Anna Whitelock, a professor of history of modern monarchy at City University London. But he faces a raft of questions.

B次元官网网址淲hat place does a monarchy have in a multi-faith, multi-ethnic society?B次元官网网址� Whitelock asked. B次元官网网址淎nd is it the right rallying point for the nation? And should it be the monarch representing the U.K. abroad? What does it say about us? Is it a bastion of tradition that people should applaud? Or is it actually a check on progress that actually doesnB次元官网网址檛 represent the inclusive, diverse society that people would hope that Britain would now become?B次元官网网址�

And there is another, more personal, question lurking in the background: Is a 73-year-old white man the best person to confront those issues?

Charles waited longer than any other heir to take the throne and in many ways embodies the modernization of the monarchy. He was the first monarch not educated at home, the first to earn a university degree and the first to grow up in the ever-intensifying glare of the media as deference to royalty faded.

He has been lauded as an early advocate of the environmental movement and won praise for working to improve the lives of young people in underprivileged communities.

But he also has a reputation, perhaps undeserved, as a somewhat stuffy older man who is more at home on the polo field or one of his country estates than the soccer-mad cities of modern Britain.

Charles also alienated many people with his messy divorce from the much-loved Princess Diana, and by straining the rules that bar royals from intervening in public affairs, wading into debates on issues such as environmental protection and architectural preservation.

As the U.K. mourned his mother, it quickly became clear that Charles was ready to be a more personal monarch. He has made a point of wading into the crowds of well wishers, stopping to shake hands and exchange a few words, more like a U.S. presidential candidate appealing for votes than a king who inherited the crown from a line of ancestors stretching back to 1066.

One woman even kissed him B次元官网网址� a level of familiarity no one would have dared with Elizabeth.

At MondayB次元官网网址檚 for the late queen, Bertram Leon embodied the challenges facing Charles.

A proud Briton whose roots stretch back to the Windrush generation of immigrants who came to the U.K. from the Caribbean after World War II, Leon was at Westminster Abbey to represent the St. Lucian community in honoring the queen. Now he expects Charles to take the monarchy in a new direction.

B次元官网网址淭he king is actually going to change, perhaps modernize the monarchy in the image that he thinks in the current day,B次元官网网址� Leon said, his British Empire Medal pinned to his chest. B次元官网网址淲e canB次元官网网址檛 live back in the 1920s, B次元官网网址�30s or B次元官网网址�50s, when Elizabeth took over. We are now in the 21st century, and I think things are going to be regarded and looked at a bit different.B次元官网网址�

In addition to being king of the United Kingdom, Charles is head of state for 14 B次元官网网址渞ealmsB次元官网网址� that retained the monarch as their sovereign after gaining independence from the former British Empire. It is in these far-flung nations, which stretch from Australia and New Zealand to the Caribbean that Charles may face his first challenges.

The pressures were clear earlier this year when Prince William and his wife, Kate, faced calls for a royal apology and reparations for slavery during a trip to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas to celebrate the queenB次元官网网址檚 70 years on the throne.

During that visit, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness told the royals that a few months after Barbados severed its ties with the monarchy.

The royals have also faced criticism from within after Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, gave up royal duties and moved to California. In a widely publicized earlier this year, the couple alleged that palace had been insensitive toward Meghan, who is bi-racial, and that a member of the royal family had asked about the color of their first childB次元官网网址檚 skin before he was born.

Charles sought to address the tensions at home and abroad in his .

B次元官网网址淲herever you may live in the United Kingdom, or in the realms and territories across the world, and whatever may be your background or beliefs, I shall endeavor to serve you with loyalty, respect and love, as I have throughout my life,B次元官网网址� he said.

Charles also confronted concerns about how he would conduct himself as king.

The laws and traditions that govern BritainB次元官网网址檚 constitutional monarchy dictate that the sovereign must stay out of partisan politics, but Charles has spent much of his adult life speaking out on issues that are important to him, particularly the environment.

His words have caused friction with politicians and business leaders who accused the then-Prince of Wales of meddling in issues on which he should have remained silent.

The question is whether Charles will follow his motherB次元官网网址檚 example and muffle his personal opinions now that he is king, or use his new platform to reach a broader audience.

B次元官网网址淢y life will, of course, change as I take up my new responsibilities,B次元官网网址� Charles said. B次元官网网址淚t will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply. But I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others.B次元官网网址�

The king has been clear that he intends to slim down the monarchy, limiting the number of working royals and reducing the expense of supporting them.

But for 10 days, Britain spared no expense as it honored Elizabeth, who became a comforting symbol of stability over the tumultuous years of her long reign.

All the spectacle that has become synonymous with the royals was on display as uniformed members of the royal family walked solemnly behind a gun carriage carrying the queenB次元官网网址檚 coffin away from Buckingham Palace, cannons and church bells sounded in lament and world leaders filled Westminster Abbey for her funeral.

But it was pageantry with a purpose, celebrating the queenB次元官网网址檚 life while also reminding the public of the monarchyB次元官网网址檚 role in public life and linking the people to the royal family in their time of shared grief.

B次元官网网址淧eople often criticize the British monarchy or even laugh at it as pomp and circumstance and emptiness,B次元官网网址� said historian Robert Lacey, author of B次元官网网址淢ajesty: Elizabeth II and the House of Windsor.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲ell, an occasion like this shows itB次元官网网址檚 not emptiness, that the pomp and circumstance stands for something.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擠anica Kirka, The Associated Press