A right royal drama

There are palpable historical reasons why the British monarchy is one of the most fascinating anthropological phenomena in the Western world. This Germano-Hellenic-Scottish family on the English throne is drawn in carriages, wears ermine and balance crowns encrusted with jewels hoarded from colonial mines, yet it is the most vibrant, persistent, colourful anachronism to survive and outlive modernity, second only to the Vatican and its Catholic ritualistic trappings.

The mystery of its survival is compounded by the fact that even a cursory glance at its history will show that it is often not what it claims to be: It is not representative of the model values of the community; it does not represent the ethnic profile of its subjects; it defends and heads one faith in a multicultural country which holds several beliefs; it is loaded with constitutional ambiguities; and it depends on the qualities of individuals born for their role in a society that relies on meritocracy to choose its elites.

A history of the British monarchy will spring on its reader one surprise above all else: How did the institution survive this far? In a matter of centuries it has turned from a force of secularisation to a personal integration of church and state; from supremacy in matters of faith to subordination to law and tradition. It turned from a symbol of national identity and unity to a cause of bloody and repeated conflicts and civil war and back again. For every conscientious, ascetic, God-fearing monarch, there is a sex-mad, drunk glutton strutting with the crown. For all the talk of a "Queen’s English" almost all of them had some form of an accent in conversation, some German, others Dutch, that marked them as unmistakable foreigners.

And yet here they are.

David Starkey’s book is not an in-depth biography of the kings and queens of England though there can be no doubt he is perfectly capable of delivering such a product. His Tudor books are gripping, substantial texts that are more than competent and never less than fascinating. In this text, the author is more interested in the changing dynamics of the institution itself, never ignoring the fundamental fact that those dynamics more often than not changed as a result of the personality of the incumbents and the often murderous intent of their next in line.

Mr Starkey’s Channel 4 series on the subject is up there with Simon Schama’s History of Britain on the BBC with just as much energy in its broad strokes, with less caution to precision and concession to doubt but with more thematic focus. A history of the monarchy is unabashedly elitist and unrestrained by the closet Marxism of other contemporaries.

Thus, it also gives greater confidence to conclude this sweeping drama with some pertinent crystal-ball gazing. Mr Starkey – atheist, Tory, gay, TV-savvy, competent professional and popular historian – passes judgement on the third Carolingian era of British history.

Prince Charles’s idea of monarchy will fit the times ahead. As a remarried divorcee he is unlikely to be crowned by an Archbishop. In any case his views are largely incompatible with the notion of the monarch being the defender of "the" faith, that is the Church of England. His role as avid promoter of charities and national heritage will find new space in the decades ahead when state-funded welfare will not be sustained any longer.

With Charles III there will be more pages to be written to explain the changing face and the changing role of the British monarchy. Few will be as energetically and flowingly written as those by Mr Starkey.

• Mr Delia is a graduate in international relations and comparative politics.
• The copy of this title is the reviewer’s own.