‘Accessible…fun…a relaxed guy’. And that is how young Kenyans describe KING CHARLES! Could the TikTok generation come to the aid of the ailing Commonwealth, wonders NATASHA LIVINGSTONE?

Last week’s state visit to Kenya revealed a sharp generational divide – but perhaps not the one King Charles expected.

Here in Britain, the Palace can count on middle-aged and elderly people to say kind things about the monarchy and buy commemorative tea towels. It is the young people who need to be involved.

The same seems to be true in Commonwealth realms such as Australia, where Charles remains the head of state.

Yet the reverse was the case in Kenya, where it was the older generation, especially those with strong memories of colonial rule, who had to overcome.

Charles will soon be 75, but was treated like a rock star. The king visits an office of the United Nations Office on day two of his state visit

Like their peers around the world, young Kenyans get their royal news through social media. And they seem to be fans of the monarchy

An image on TikTok of Charles on the beach in Mombasa with a group of royal fans

Difficult calls for an apology and reparations loomed at the start of the visit.

Young Kenyans, on the other hand, were full of enthusiasm. A 17-year-old even declared she ‘loved Charles’ on a sunny beach in Mombasa.

In fact, the Kenyan people – whose average age is only 19 – welcomed the King and Queen like rock stars.

Like in Britain, Kenya’s TikTok generation spends much of their time watching glamorous celebrities online, fascinated by their outfits, their wealth and even their bodyguards.

In this Kardashian prism, it’s easy to see why royal splendor is attractive.

At a library in central Nairobi, enthusiastic crowds lined the dusty street before the royal arrival and ran cheering behind the car convoy as they left.

Allan Ramogo, a 38-year-old caterer at the library, told the MoS: “Everyone here was probably born around 2000. For them, the empire is a centuries-old history.

‘It is the older generation, such as my grandparents, who are dissatisfied with the visit and associate the British with colonialism. The young people are just excited.”

“History weighs heavily on the elderly,” agrees a local journalist. ‘But the young people look more to the future.’

King Charles’ relaxed royal style (however carefully cultivated) seemed very well matched.

“The king was great,” a street food vendor suggested as Charles bought a samosa. ‘Very relaxed.’

This could surprise the aides in charge of the king’s stationery, who got a glimpse of his fiery temper last year when a pen leaked on camera.

“He’s approachable and fun,” says 37-year-old Enos Weswa from a technology center in Nairobi. “He understands that the future is about young people and climate change.”

The next morning the scene was the same at the United Nations, where crowds awaited him and he was harassed on his way out.

Veronica Michael, a 23-year-old volunteer who met the king on a beach in Mombasa, said: “King Charles is really cool. He was not formal, but friendly.

‘We don’t know much about his mother, the queen, but the colonial period created a stricter atmosphere for her.’

Will we see the same elsewhere? Maybe. Many of the 47 Commonwealth countries have young populations.

In India, the largest member state of the Commonwealth, the average age is just 28 years. In the UK it is over 40 years old.

No wonder the royal family works so hard with social media. William and Kate have been employing online videographers for over a year. It looks like Charles and Camilla are now doing the same.

Young Kenyans take to TikTok ready to welcome King Charles

Charles orders Sang Paneer Kathi Roll and Butter Chicken Samosa from the Desi Loco Indian Street Food stall

The Kenyan people – only 19 years old on average – welcomed the King and Queen like rock stars, says Natasha Livingstone

King Charles and Queen Camilla get the VIP tuk-tuk treatment after visiting Fort Jesus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

And their polite, innocuous and undeniably authentic form of celebrity (he’s a king!) seems to be exactly what we want – at least in Kenya.

Maybe it will work in Britain too, where, even though we won’t see the royal family on TikTok just yet (it’s against government advice), palace aides now want to invite social media influencers to royal events.

Hope over experience? We shall see. In any case, the experiences in Kenya were surprisingly good.