Royal visits ‘frustrate’ locals as ‘real’ face of Britain masked

King Charles III is less than two months into his reign following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The new king, who served a record-breaking 64 years as the Prince of Wales, went on a tour of the UK after his mother’s passing in what was coined the ‘D-Day’ protocol. It was a period of mourning for both him and the country, with well-wishers turning out to pay their respects in all corners of the UK on his arrival.Since then, he has made official visits in his capacity as king, like when he travelled to Dunfermline in early October to celebrate the town receiving city status, all part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.For decades the royals have made public appearances, touring towns and cities, opening new exhibitions, parks, gardens, and small businesses. The pre-visit preparations made by councils are often colossal: cleaning the streets, painting lampposts, filling potholes.Members of the public eagerly anticipate the visits and hope to get a glimpse – or even a chat – with a member of the Firm.Others, however, have questioned to what extent their presence is good for the community, and how frustrating it can be when big clean-ups only take place because of their arrival.This was true when Express.co.uk spoke to people on the streets of Cardiff, Wales’ capital, about the Prince of Wales title. Towns and cities are often cleaned-up before a royal visit (Image: GETTY) Charles travelled up and down the UK following the passing of his mother (Image: GETTY)Sarah Powney, the 56-year-old director and co-owner of the Naked Vegan, said she loved the Royal Family and welcomed Charles as the Prince of Wales, despite growing anti-royalist sentiment elsewhere in the country.However, she was annoyed: “I support the fact that they bring a lot of tourism into the country, but I find it frustrating that whenever you had royalty coming in, all of a sudden, the streets and the road would be paved with gold, so to speak.Others, however, question to what extent their presence is good for the community – and how frustrating it can be when big clean-ups only take place because of them.In Cadriff, some voiced their annoyance about royal visits. Sarah Powney, the 56-year-old director and co-owner of the Naked Vegan, said she loved the Royal Family and welcomed Charles as the Prince of Wales, despite growing anti-royalist sentiment elsewhere in the country.However, she said: “I support the fact that they bring a lot of tourism into the country, but I find it frustrating that whenever you had royalty coming in, all of a sudden, the streets and the road would be paved with gold, so to speak.JUST IN: Meghan Markle’s new podcast up for award The Queen often made visits to town and cities around the UK during her reign (Image: GETTY)”Everything would be clean, the roads would be fixed, there were no potholes, lampposts were polished and painted.”You just think: Is that [their] perception of how Wales is all the time? Do they not see that this isn’t real?”Andrew Morgan, 59, a butcher, hinted at a similar exasperation, although in the context of the Prince of Wales title.He said: “They make decisions without even contemplating what people in Wales think – we should have a say.”DON’T MISSEngland’s ‘greatest monarch’ who you’ve ‘never heard of [REPORT]  Charles breaks royal tradition when appointing Sunak [INSIGHT] Kate Middleton in line for ‘unprecedented change’ to her royal role [ANALYSIS]   The late monarch pictured arriving at Truro, Cornwall (Image: GETTY) Charles visits Senghenydd memorial park and garden in 2014 (Image: GETTY)Not all cleanups are specifically for a royal visit.In 1968, parts of northwest England were engaged in what was known as “Operation Springclean”, a massive campaign launched to clean up the region’s dirty and destitute streets and centres.At the time, the Queen was on a royal tour of Britain, and took in Bolton, Worsley and Radcliffe to get a better look at how efforts were panning out.Her motorcade took her past and through various parts of Bolton where the cleaning was happening and had already polished many of the streets.It strolled through the city’s centre before heading for the Bolton “spring clean” centrepiece: a string of 121-year-old cottages in St Paul’s Enclave. The late monarch and her son through the years (Image: Express Newspapers)She passed buildings like the Town Hall, the Post Office and the Market Hall which had all been cleaned head-to-toe.There were similar scenes after the Queen’s funeral that touched various parts of Westminster, London.The aftermath saw the local council deploy some 150 staff and 19 vehicles across the borough to begin a huge clean-up operation during the mourning period.A fleet of mostly electric vehicles, each dressed in black ribbons to show respect for the late monarch, and their operators swarmed around Westminster and the City picking up rubbish, flowers and other waste. Charles outside Cardiff Castle after his mother’s passing (Image: GETTY)This was a once-in-a-generation event, however, and not the sort Powney, the Naked Vegan owner, was talking about.Her anger was more with the grind of trying to get things done in her local area for years, only for them to be fixed ahead of a royal visit.She said: “We’ve struggled for years to get things done, and then suddenly, because someone who’s a royal is coming, things that people have been fighting for for years immediately get changed.”