Thanks to all posters/researchers/linkers/historians/educators. GREAT thread BUMP!
The new crown prince (and effectively the king) is young. At 32, he has over half a century ahead of him. This gives him an incentive to deal with problems now, rather than wait until the problems are too big to be dealt with.
His major problem involves what to do with the radical clerics. They are his biggest competitor in authority, and a king cannot allow competitive power centers in his kingdom if he wants a long rule.