The monarchy with its pomp and pageantry is an anachronism in today’s day and age, where elected governments in most parts have replaced the absolute power that kings and queens once enjoyed. In the medieval period, the doctrine of the divine right of kings gave unbridled authority to the king. Opposition to the monarch was regarded as an act of rebellion against God and the Church. Revolutions and people’s struggles over the centuries have ensured that the role of the monarchy in modern times is mainly ceremonial.
Yet the great outpouring of grief at the passing of Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-serving monarch is an indication that a majority of ordinary people still revere the institution. It is not just in the UK but people across the world are mourning the end of the second Elizabethan era, which lasted 70 years. Britain has a hereditary constitutional monarchy, which means while the Queen and now her son Charles is head of state, elected Prime Ministers have to keep the monarch informed of all major decisions taken by the government. But in fact, the monarch does not have the power to stop governments from doing what they wish. Yet some die-hard royalists saw the Queen as having the divine right to rule. A poll at the time of the Queen’s coronation in 1953 found that "three out of 10 people believed she could claim direct descent from God.’’
Advertisement
In the 50s perhaps more people were pro-monarchy than they are now. Today there are sections bitterly opposed to the monarchy and feel that keeping the royal family in luxury from taxpayers’ money is a waste of resources.
Taxpayers contribute heavily to keeping the royal family in style. The Crown is exempt from taxation, and the Sovereign Grant, money paid annually by the British government to the Queen’s household is exempt from income tax. In 1992, after the first in Windsor Castle, when public funds were to be allotted for its restoration, there was much criticism of the move. The Palace decided soon afterwards to pay ‘voluntary’ income and capital gains tax on private investments and the Privy Purse, the sovereign’s income from land, property and assets held by the royals. The royal family does not have to pay inheritance tax.
Advertisement
Writing in The Guardian six months ago, during the Royal Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Polly Toynbee said in an opinion column "Clearly Britain loses more than it gains from the monarchy. Let us be brave and end it.’’
At the time of the celebrations, a group called the Republic, hosted an international anti-monarchy conference. They raised around $50,400 to promote the idea of abolishing the monarchy. Billboards across major cities in Britain were plastered with anti-monarchy slogans. T-shirts and coffee mugs with the slogan ``make Elizabeth the last’’ monarch was also sold.
But these groups are in a minority with the majority of citizens loving the Queen and her family. However, at the time of the divorce and death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Queen and the royal family’s popularity took a major dip. Though the Queen was able to build back the family reputation, largely because of her own popularity, there have been several scandals attached to Britain’s royals. The falling out of the royals with Prince Harry and his wife Megan Markle, the Prince Andrew’s association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had tarnished the image of the royals. Yet according to surveys a steady two-thirds of the British public loved the Queen and support the continuation of the monarchy. This has basically to do with the deep affection people have for their long-reigning monarch. Whether the support will continue for King Charles and his consort remains doubtful.
But most ordinary citizens love the glitter and dazzle of the royal family. As Laura Clancy found while researching for her book Running the Family Firm: How the monarchy manages its image and its money. Writing in Open Democracy she said that when Princess Eugenie the Queen’s granddaughter got married in 2018 at Windsor Castle, in a wedding funded partly by the Sovereign Grant, that is the government, she overheard a conversation during the wedding. “I hate it when people moan about how much money royal weddings cost,” one said. “This country has more important problems to worry about. I thought she looked beautiful.” For ordinary citizens, the royal family provides an escape from the dull monotony of their humdrum lives as they watch from afar the fairy tale lives of the royal family. Whether King Charles and his consort can evoke the same love and admiration as the Queen remains to be seen, Tweets against the new monarch are already in :
