The Royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton – now known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – has focused much attention on the monarchy in the UK and its role in modern day Britain.
The wedding went beautifully – if it’s one thing the British are brilliant at it is pomp and circumstance – and it also served as a welcome distraction to the doom and gloom we have become accustomed to every day in the media. The wedding showed Britain at its best and served to unite its people on a very special historic day.
As expected, the Royal wedding created the usual debate between pro- and anti-monarchists over whether the monarchy should be abolished or whether it is good for Britain. It is worth stressing that the constitutional monarchy persists through democratic consent and opinion polls regularly show that over 80 per cent of the British people support it.
This does not mean, however, that the monarchy does not need to change in order to retain the support of the public. In fact, many people in Britain believe some type of reform and adjustment is needed for the monarchy in the interest of its long-term survival.
After the rough patch the monarchy went through over the past three decades – the breakdown of the marriages of three of the Queen’s children, as well as the public backlash to the Queen’s initial reaction to the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales – this latest royal wedding is probably the best thing that has happened to the royal family in a very long time.
The couple have known each other for 10 years so are well prepared for married life; they will bring a breath of fresh air to the monarchy and will relate well to the public. William and Kate are charming and charismatic, William’s mother Diana tried hard to bring him up in a ‘normal’ way, and Kate’s strong middle-class background will definitely strengthen the monarchy and help it relate more to the public.
Of course, reforming the monarchy will not only come about by simply having a popular and outward-looking King and Queen – who, anyway, have to wait their turn to be crowned after Prince Charles assumes the throne (unless he renounces). At some point in time, there will have to be some degree of constitutional reform, which Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is said to be looking at.
There are questions about whether a first-born daughter should be allowed to inherit the throne, the role of the monarch as head of the Church of England as well as the prohibition on an heir marrying a Catholic.
The unfairness of this latter point was perhaps best highlighted in a recent editorial in The Observer, which stated: “The prohibition on an heir marrying a Catholic, while remaining free to marry a Methodist, Muslim, atheist or Jedi Knight, is indefensible bigotry”.
Most people believe that the Queen has served Britain well and that the monarchy is good for Britain, even though some changes are needed and are probably inevitable. The monarchy is also good for the economy – it earns the country millions through tourism, and it is part of the nation’s heritage and identity, so it is definitely worth preserving.
Of course, constitutional monarchies and republics are equally democratic and I am not arguing that one system is better than the other. Each country has its own particular set of circumstances which need to be taken into account.
There are numerous examples of successful and stable constitutional monarchies, such as those in Scandinavia, Holland and Spain. Equally, there are plenty of successful republics, such as Italy, Germany, France, the US, Ireland and India, to name a few.
I think it is fair to say, however, that one advantage of a monarchy is that while presidents are typically members of a political party, kings and queens are non-political and are there-fore more capable of uniting the nation. Also, a monarch makes a better visible symbol of national identity than does a president.
This Royal wedding has served to make the people of Britain, and also the people in those countries where the Queen is still head of state, to focus on the future direction of the monarchy as well as its role in today’s modern world.
This dashing young couple, who will one day be crowned King and Queen, now have a very important role to play in the transformation of the monarchy, as well as making it more in tune with today’s realities.
It looks like they will do a very good job, and William has already indicated he will be a different king.
Above all, this wedding is about two people who truly love each other and who married each other out of their own free will.
They are a symbol of hope for all married couples and deserve a long and happy life together.