The British Monarchy

If you were asked who was the most famous family on earth, chances are the British Royal family would be the reply; their antics and deeds are never far from the media’s gaze and comment – whether it be about their marriages, children, work, rumoured affairs or fabulous wealth. Heading them all is the reigning monarch – Elizabeth the Second who became Queen at the age of twenty-five back in 1952. Like most monarchies in Europe today, even though her title is impressive, her active participation in politics is minimal and mostly ceremonial. The actual power rests with the democratically elected House of Commons, headed by the Prime Minister.

If you wanted to interpret British constitutional theory literally however, the Queen if she wished could disband the Army, sell off the Navy's ships, sacrifice an offshore island as the price of peace, pardon every criminal and make all her citizens, male and female, peers. Fortunately the prospects for these drastic moves are not likely; the Queen can only act on the “advice” of a responsible minister.

Despite her ceremonial role, such as gliding majestically down Pall Mall and Whitehall in a glass coach to officially open Parliament each year and meeting with the Prime Minister once a week, the vast majority of the nation is still keen to retain the institution of which she has been the central figure.

And Elizabeth is in full agreement. One of her predecessors, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry an American divorcee, but there is no danger of Elizabeth acting so rashly. She has always declared that hers ‘is a job for life’. And her son Prince Charles will only succeed her upon her death.

The British monarchy is one of the oldest institutions in Europe stretching back almost a thousand years. They may have had absolute rule once, but this century it has been increasingly difficult to command such respect.

This July marks the eleventh wedding anniversary of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, the couple who will become king and queen. Princess Diana has established herself as one of the most loved of all the royal family: every inch the model princess. They have two sons ten-year-old William and seven-year-old Harry and their fairy­tale wedding was watched by millions back in 1981. All agree that Lady Diana Spencer has blossomed into a mature, self-assured woman of style and substance, quite befitting for a princess. She attends some 200 ceremonies a year and patronises over 40 charities. Her work on behalf of people with aids is typical of her approach. When she opened Britain’s first full-time aids ward and conspicuously removed her gloves to shake the hands of the sufferers of the disease the Princess did more to dispel the fears and hostility of an alarmed public than any official advertising.

Born with any other name, Prince Charles would perhaps have chosen the life of a farmer rather than that of a prince: the countryside is where he is happiest. But a sense of duty instilled in him; from childhood prepared him inexorably for his extraordinary role.

Not your typical royal, he has become the champion of environmental causes: banning aerosol cans from the royal residences, converting all the royal cars to unleaded petrol, choosing a vegetarian diet and even practising organic farming. The resultant press mockery was unfair but persists.

Prince William and Prince Harry were not the first grandchildren to the Queen nor the last. There is also Peter, 13, and Zara, nine, whose mother, Princess Anne, the Queen’ only daughter, has recently separated from her husband Captain Mark Phillips – causing yet more scandal for the newspapers to devour. And another royal marriage that of the Queen’s second son Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has also come to a much publicised end.

Fergie, as she was commonly known, could never match Diana’s popularity. Her antics became an embarrassment to the royal house of Windsor. It seemed her skirts were always too short, and the list of her indiscretions too long. It’s true that the down-to-earth, rosy-cheeked Fergie continued the flow of royal good news with the birth of two daughters (Beatrice, almost four, and Eugenic, almost two) and the Queen did like her riding company as they are both keen on horses, but that’s all over now as the world greedily awaits the details of the divorce proceedings. It may surprise some to discover that not only is the Queen one of the most famous women in the world, she is also the richest. Her personal wealth has been estimated well in excess of five and a half billion pounds – and she pays no taxes. Such facts have led an increasing number of people to enquire, very politely in most cases, who is paying for the monarch’s ‘clothes’.

Critics say the royal family is the bastion of a system of class and privilege, and is essentially out of touch with modern democracy. Some call for the abolition of the monarchy altogether while others say their privileges should be curtailed.

The British taxpayer provided the Queen with 55 million pounds in 1990-91 to help pay the expenses of the Royal yacht, palace maintenance, the Queen's aircraft, and the Royal train. Some say it is money well spent as the Queen and heir family are a huge tourist attraction, earning millions of pounds for the country every year. Others argue that it is ridiculous to provide huge sums of money to the pampered royals who live in vast and conspicuous luxury.

Whatever side of the debate one takes, it appears that as the century draws to a close such activities cannot continue. Most agree that the British royal family will probably evolve into an institution similar to those in other European countries where less pomp is evident and there are as many bicycles as Bentleys in the royal garage.