Prince Charles was mobbed by a crowd of well-wishers while in East Market while undergoing a royal engagement for his foundation, The Prince’s Trust. Given that he opened Parliament just the day before, stepping in last minute for his mother Queen Elizabeth II, it seems like despite some concerns, England is ready to embrace King Charles III.

When it comes to royal engagements, it’s usually the younger royals and especially the women who seem to gather the most attention. Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, is generally going to generate more attention on a royal visit than Prince Charles, even though he is higher in the line-of-succession than her husband and Charles’ son, Prince William.

So it was somewhat a surprise to see videos and pictures of a massive crowd surrounding Charles anxious to get their moment with the future King and to wish the Queen well. One person asked, “How’s your mum?”

Generally, this type attention isn’t what Charles is used to as a senior member of the royal family, and a senior in general. After 70 decades as first in line for the throne, generally there isn’t much fanfare given to Charles on walkabouts by the crowds. That a spontaneous and exuberant group gathered showed that despite notions that the throne should fall to William for the monarchy to survive, it seems like the public is ready to embrace King Charles III.

This is welcome news for the royal family. Given his age, many figured that Charles was simply to old to be king and keep the British royals on the throne. There have been suggestions for years that Charles should simply pass the torch onto William, which he didn’t want to do.

After spending 70 years as the Queen’s understudy, Charles is ready to take center stage.

There have also been reporters noting that without Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the monarchy lacks the star power that it needs to stay relevant and interesting.

But again, a multigenerational crowd showed a different story.

Charles not only made an impression with those outside, but inside as well.

Pav Soor, 24 struggled for 18 months to get a job and filled out 400 applications before getting hired by Marks & Spencer.

“It was demoralizing,” he said.

When sharing his story with the future king, Soor told Sky News that it was “more of a discussion with a friend”.

Mr Soor said: “He was interested in our journeys, in our personal journeys. He individually spoke to each of us and asked us how you got here.

“There’s a stigma behind a higher power not really being clued with what the younger generation are doing, but I was really glad to see that stigma just wiped away.”

This is exactly the kind of positive response Charles needs, and he did it perfectly. He was able to bridge the gap between himself and one of his subjects, and, for a king, that is a fantastic quality.

The Queen’s reign may be coming to an end, but the future of the British monarchy appears to be on sound footing.