MONARCHS & PRESIDENTS
WELL, it’s all over now. Harry and Meghan have done it. The nation cheered, the streets were full, the flags were waved, the soldiers marched and the sun was shining. A smile crossed the face of a nation. Now the bunting has been put away, the cakes have been eaten and the party hats shoved in the waste bin. Another royal wedding has passed into the annals of history.
By any standard, the survival and popularity of Britain’s royal family in the modern world is anachronistic, to say the least. It defies the march of time. It shouldn’t really be so, but it is. Royalty has its critics, but they are very much in the minority. Royal appeal goes way beyond Britain’s shores, beyond even the Commonwealth, large parts of which still have Her Britannic Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state. Her Majesty is one of the wonders of the modern world, giving Britain a global prestige and recognition no mere president could ever gift us.
At a time when virtually every revered British institution has fallen in public esteem, the Queen in particular and monarchy in general retain the respect and appreciation of the nation. In a world of turmoil and change, the continuity of the royal family, whoever the individuals might be within it, represents stability in the minds of the majority of the public, unifying a nation in recognition of the distinct national identity their existence grants us.
Of course, this may not always remain so. The time may come when public attitudes change. The more the modern royal family appears accessible and “normal” (whatever that is), the more likely their mystique will cease to attract. They risk becoming mere celebrities in some royal “soap opera”, at risk of their “ratings” taking a dive, as many a soap queen has found to her cost.
So, in the aftermath of the “celebrity”-dominated latest royal wedding, perhaps it will do no harm to remind ourselves of the real value of monarchy, especially over the republican alternative. The British monarch reigns but does not rule. All power is exercised in their name and nominally resides in Parliament, duly elected by the people. Our armed forces, the police, the judiciary and Parliament itself do not swear allegiance to the government of the day or the current occupant of No 10, but to the monarch and therefore, through her, to the people. Constitutional experts tell us this is the reason Britain has never suffered a military coup and our parliamentary system is so stable. It’s the republics of this world that provide the Putins and Mugabes. Britain’s brief republican period was the only time our islands suffered a dictator, Oliver Cromwell being his name. He didn’t last long.
So, the royals being nonpolitical puts them right at the heart of what unites us. Whatever our politics or religion, we can all rally around them. I repeat, they reign, they do not rule. What politician could do that? Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn, David Cameron, Neil Kinnock? For goodness sake. Give me a break! Swear allegiance to President Blair (he’d love that, wouldn’t he?) or even Margaret Thatcher (who wouldn’t have wanted you to anyway)? No way, sunshine! So we have surely established one thing. Let’s keep the politicians in Westminster, not Buckingham Palace.
One thing also sets Britain very much apart from many other countries. In our constitutional monarchy, it is very unclear where actual power really does reside. Certainly not with the monarch. Parliament? Not really; it only appears there collectively and not all the time. The Cabinet? Many are the ministers who found power is elusive even when they arrive in those elevated political circles. Downing Street, perhaps? Well, maybe to some extent, but not totally (ask Theresa May if you don’t believe me). No. Real power exists only through a mystical mechanism known as “the Crown in Parliament”. In other words, the sovereignty and power of the monarch are diffused amongst many. There lies the guarantee of our freedoms: the Crown. Get rid of that and the whole edifice comes crashing down.
Our royal family are worth more to us than any president. In tourism, trade and our standing in the world, they earn far more for us than whatever they cost. In that sense they are priceless. They incarnate our constitutional freedoms, and if we ever forget that, we will lose more than our royal family. We will lose ourselves.