The British Monarchy today
 a brief guide to Britain‘s Monarchy

the Queen

the Royal Family

the Queen‘s role

questions concerning the Monarchy
 the future of the British Monarchy

opinions and quotes

in defense

reform perspective

abolition

evaluation
Britain‘s Monarchy
Britain is a constitutional monarchy. That means the
Monarch is the head of state, but his power is limited
by constitutional rules.
But... Who is this Monarch?
Queen Elizabeth II
Date of birth:
21 April 1926
Family:
Prince Philip and
four children
and six
grandchildren
Coronation:
2 June 1953 in
Westminster Abbey
Hobbies:
Horses and dogs
The Royal Family
The Queen is supported by the members of the Royal
Family. Her family carries out a wide range of public
and official duties.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Date of birth:
10 June 1921
Parents:
Prince Andrew of Greece
Princess Alice of
Battenberg
Duties:
Patron or President of
around 800
accompanies the
organisations,
Queen
Hobbies:
Nature
Children of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh
Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales (eldest son)
Date of birth:
14 November 1948
Family:
Prince William (20) Prince Harry (18)
Duties:
Patron or President of around
200 organisations,
public commitment
Hobbies:
Environment (organic agriculture)
Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, Princess Royal (2nd child)
Date of birth:
15 August 1950
Family:
2nd husband: Commodore Laurence,
two children
Duties:
Charitable appointments
25 journeys to Africa
Hobbies:
Horses
Children of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh
Andrew Albert Christian Edward, Duke of York (3rd child)
Date of birth:
19 Februray 1960
Family:
Divorced, three children
Duties:
Patron or President of about 100
organisations
British Trade International
Profession:
Pilot in the Navy
Edward Antony Richard Louis, Earl of Wessex (4th child)
Date of birth:
10 March 1964
Family:
Wife: Miss Sophie Rhys-Jones
Duties:
Patron of 15 organisations
Profession:
Royal Marines, Theatre and TV
production
Hobbies:
Sports
What‘s the Queen‘s role?
 representative and
symbolic function
 head of the Church
of England, special
relation to the Church
of Scotland
 head of the
Commonwealth
The Queen and the Church
a) The Church of England
-foundation: Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church and declared
himself the Supreme Head of the Church of England (in the 1530s)
-organised into two Provinces: Canterbury (Southern Povince) and York
(Northern Province)
-the Monarch must be in communion with the church and has to promise
during the coronation oath to maintain the Church
-relation between the Church and the Queen: -archbishops and bishops are
appointed by the the Queen
(on advice of the Prime Minster
and a Church Commission)
-archbishops, bishops and
priests take an oath of
allegiance to the Queen
-relation between the Church and the state: -the two archbishops and 24
bishops sit in the House of
Lords (“Lords Spiritual“)
b)The Church of Scotland
-foundation: a saint called Ninian is regarded as having set up the first universal
Church in Scotland at around 400 AD
-is is organised into different sections (on a local, a district and a national level)
and it is supposed to have a presbyterian character (which means that it is run
by a system of courts at local, district and national level rather than by
individuals)
-the monarch is required to preserve the Church of Scotland and takes an oath
to do that immediately afer his/her accession
-relation between the Church and the Queen:-the Queen is an ordinary member
-the Crown is represented during
the General Assembly, by the
monarch or by a Lord High
Commissioner (who is appointed
by the Queen each year)
-the Queen and the Lord High Commissioner-
The Commonwealth
-association of 54 independent and equal nations (e.g. Australia, India,
Pakistan)
-foundation: 1949, after the independence of India and Pakistan from Britain
-principles: equality, justice and democracy
-aims: it is supposed to advance democracy, human rights, and sustainable
economic and social development
-Commonwealth members have no contractual obligations and the
Commonwealth‘s structure is based on unwritten and traditional procedures
- worldmap of the countries
beloning to the Commonwealth -
The Queen and the Commonwealth
-she is the Head of the Commonwealth, since a unanimous vote after the
death of her father  this position is not hereditary and will not automatically
be transferred to future monarchs
-she has no constitutional or executive but symbolic function
-she is host to the Heads of State of Commonwealth countries and receives
them in private audiences
-regular contact with the Secretary-General, who has executive powers
- the Queen and the Heads of State of the Commonwealth countries -
What powers does the Queen have?
 signs bills into laws
 appoints Prime Minister & he is granted
an audience every Tuesday
 appoints the life peers
 pardons convicted criminals
 dissolves Parliament and calls an election
 declares a state of emergency
 declares war
 awards honours
How much does it cost to run the monarchy?
controversial: Civil List for the
running of the Queen‘s household
spends: 6,5 million, but fixed
until 2011: 7,9 million
personal income: 7,3 million
Pounds
all in all she has 50,2 million
Pounds per year
Does to Queen pay taxes?
yes, on voluntary basis
(private income)
But: she did not pay
inheritance tax after the death
of Queen Mother (20 million
Pounds)
Developing a future
REFORM
REFORM
ABOLISH
KEEP
REFORM
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REFORM
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ABOLISH
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KEEP
P
KEEP
ABOLISH
REFORM
ABOLISH
KEEP
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The Royals are a constant reminder
of inequality, class division and
power of the rich to manipulate
and control the masses via media.
J. Lennik
I agree with AN
Wilson´s
comment in the
evening
standard,
where he says
he would hate
to see a
politician
riding around
in a coach – we
would be
replacing
tradition with
champagne
socialism – at
least the Royals
are that – royal.
G. Walker
The monarch has no real
power and parliament
could dissolve the
monarchy at some stage in
the future if it saw fit, so it
really isn´t undemocratic.
An elected president is not
a good alternative – it is
hard enough to get people
to vote as it is, so what sort
of turnout would there be
for electing a president?
A. Cooke
All heads of state cost money – fact.
The fact that our head of state costs
the taxpayer less than the French
President is an often overlooked point
by the republicans.
So let put this in context.
R. Merrin
What do you think as a British
person about the monarchy? (collected
by the BBC)
The Future of the British Monarchy
‘... everybody talks about the monarchy. They may
laugh at it, they may defend it, they may insist it is
unimportant or argue that it is 'the only thing that
keeps our country great'; they might despair at the
triviality of it all or fear the reactions of others if the
question is raised; they may…. admire the Queen for
the job she does. But whether it is anger, loyalty, love
it or hate it, everyone feels something about the Royal
Family and can say so' (Anthony Barnett; professor)
'It is very hard for the political nation in Britain to
discuss the monarchy in sensible terms. By most
people and for much of the time it is accepted as
simply being there, somewhat like the weather,
rather baffling but a fixture and very much part of
the scene, part of the specialness of being British
and often a source of self-congratulation verging
on the smug '(Peter Hennessy; professor)
In Defense of the Traditional Monarchy
-the British Monarchy is not contradictory to the demoratic principle, because
the Monarch has no real “day-to-day“ power, this enables him/her to fulfil
other important roles in Britain – much better than an elected president could
-being the Monarch of Britain is connected to a heavy symbolic burden and
must be a ceremonial institution (“the fountain of honour“); the Monarch
plays this role by being the symbolic head of state, by being the head of the
Church of England, by being the Commander in Chief of the army and by
setting a moral example
-the Monarch is supposed to be impartial, thereby he/she can serve as a
costitutional judge and can encourage, advice, warn or criticize the Prime
Minster and other politicians
-the monarchy symbolises British history and greatness, to decline it means
to decline this history and greatness
-it´s true that the monarchy costs a lot of money, but the monarchy brings in
money too, by e.g. tourism
-the behaviour of individual Royals is irrelevant to the institution of the
Monarchy and cannot affect it in any way
So defenders argue that the Monarchy is not undemocratic and actually
contributes to British demoracy in a way no elected president could.
The Reform Perspective
-aims of reforms: a) Britain´s monachy is not a “perfect“ constitutional
monarchy, because the Monarch has too much power and even
weakens democracy (it is, for example, questionable
why honours or royal issues can´t be discussed in
Parliament or why there aren´t fixed election dates)
b) a “citizen monarchy“
-since around 1945 there have been enormous social
changes, it is now much more difficult to embody Britain
since it is a multi-cultural, multi-faith and multi-racial
society
-the media‘s intrusiveness has de-mystified the Monarchy
-the Windsors have precipitated their own ruin in the public
eye, exampls are the way how Diana and Charles divorced
and how they fought their private fights in public
-especially Diana was hunted by the press and her private life
became public life-
Categories of reform
a) Symbolic and stylistic reforms the Royals could
present themselves as ordinary people in public (e.g.
clothes,...)
b) Practical Reforms the costs to run a monarchy could
be reduced, titles could be reduced
c) Organisational change could mean that the Prime
Minister´s role becomes more important and that he
could advise the Royals
Reforms that have already taken place:
-the Queen pays taxes on her personal wealth (on a voluntary basis)
-many Royals don´t have titles (e.g. Princess Ann´s children)
-the Royals try to help the poor (e.g. with the Prince‘s Trust)
-since Diana´s death there has been a campaign to show how “normal“
the Royals are (e.g. Prince Charles showed himself in an informal way
with the Spice Girls)
-Prince Charles has recently appointed the first black member of his
staff
-Prince Charles and the Spice Girls-
Abolition
Reasons
-some people argue that the monarchy is a constant reminder of an unequal
society, in which birth still matters
-the Monarchy is described as a relic of the class system and keeps Britain
back
-others think that the Monarchy is just something that belongs to the past,
but has no space in a modern society or is something that´s not more than a
joke anymore
-the Monarchy can just survive because it is supported by myths (e.g. the
Royals work hard, they set a moral example, it’s good for tourism,…)
What could abolition mean?
the Royals could become ordinary
citizens who get a pension
their belongings such as castles,
jewels, paintings in the royal collection
could become state property
honors, ceremonials and the national
anthem could be replaced
perhaps the Prime Minster, the Speaker
or someone elected could become the
Head of State (most republicans favour a
strong president as in the US)
Evaluation – Keep it?/Reform it?/Abolish it?
the grand symbolic monarchy
belongs to the past
the Royals know that reforms are
needed and they have been working
on these reforms for the last 20 or 30
years
the monarchy is not in danger,
unless there is a further crisis caused
by royal misbehavior or scandal; BUT
there is an increasing yet small
support for republicanism