A death that left a mixed legacy for royal family
A third of the UK public feels the royal family has not shown Diana’s memory enough respect and that means a rockier road ahead
was her self-described “annus horribilis” when the marriages of three of her children — including that of Charles to Diana — disintegrated in the public spotlight, and her beloved Windsor Castle was also nearly destroyed by fire.
Later in the decade too, the Queen’s response to Diana’s death was quite widely disparaged. In the immediate aftermath of her former daughter-in-law’s passing, for instance, Elizabeth was criticised — in some quarters — for failing to return to London quickly enough from her Summer sojourn in Scotland where she was comforting Princes William and Harry. While many sympathised with her wanting to be a caring grandmother, few understood why the Buckingham Palace flagpole was kept bare, as was protocol while she was away, rather than lowering a flag to half mast in respect to Diana.
While that 1997 episode remains a troubled one for the Queen, she acknowledged just ahead of Diana’s funeral that “there are lessons to be drawn from her life and from the extraordinary and moving reaction to her death”. And indeed almost a half of the UK public (44 per cent), according to YouGov, today believes that part of Diana’s legacy is that the royal family has changed for the better.
Approval rating
While the significant changes to the royal family derive from a wide range of factors, Diana would probably have approved of a modernised monarchy for her son William to inherit. Key recent reforms include ending the rule of male primogeniture on the throne, which means girls now born to members of the royal Family have equal rights with boys in the succession to the throne; and ending the prohibition on Elizabeth’s successors marrying a Catholic.
Two decades on, the Queen and immediate family have largely recovered from the troubles of the 1990s, and younger members, including William, have helped power the ruling clan’s popularity ratings in recent years. Aside from the Queen and her husband Prince Philip, the YouGov poll showed that William is regarded as having made the best contribution to the royal family with 78 per cent approval rating, followed by Harry (73 per cent), and William’s wife Kate (73 per cent). Charles, however, and his second wife Camilla trail way behind on 36 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively.
Moreover, polls tend to show that less than a quarter of the UK population want a republic, with many people believing that it is better to have a non-divisive, non-political head of state. This factor may become even more important, in the future, given that the nation appears to potentially becoming increasingly divided on geographic lines, especially given increased pressure for independence in Scotland.
Going forward, a key question is whether or not the Queen, now at 91 years of age, might choose to abdicate before she dies, and also how the monarchy will fare in the post-Elizabeth II period. On the first question, speculation has heightened following the abdications in 2013 of both Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and King Albert of Belgium.
The Queen has already stepped back from duties requiring long-distance flights. However, there are no obvious signs yet that she will not follow the example of her great-grandmother Q 1901), the previous h gevity for a sitting UK in office.
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