Friday's royal wedding was the stuff of fairy tale. Since, I've been wondering: shouldn't I have outgrown fairy tale? On the other hand, is it possible to rationalize support for the monarchy and enjoy it unashamedly?
Britain certainly does events like Friday's better than anywhere else - it's hard to imagine a worldwide audience of the size of Friday's for the marriage of a member of the Japanese royal family or the Swedish, and elected presidents don't bring the same dynastic heritage with them to inspire the same level of interest. We can be rightly proud of being able to stage such a spectacle to rival any on Earth. It must do wonders for our tourism industry too. (It also, by the way, bodes well for the great spectacles of 2012 that Britain will stage.) Without a living monarchy, royal weddings, the State Opening of Parliament, Trooping the Colour, Coronations and Jubilees would all be consigned to history. Probably because of our royal traditions, Britain doesn't have great annual celebrations like America's Independence Day, France's Bastille Day and the national days of other countries around the globe. The closest we get must be Guy Fawkes night or our patron Saints' days, but our efforts to mark them are less than half-hearted. The inspiration to celebrate with gusto those great national days in other countries is born of history - often revolution. Britain hasn't had a revolution like those other countries and doesn't want one. Change in our constitution comes quietly, thankfully, through our vote, which seems unlikely to inspire any great, annual celebration, even if it was a vote to become a Republic! And we do still crave the spectacle of these occasions, an excuse for happiness and celebration, a great coming-together of people, a chance to mark our national identity, and for us Britons, it is still royalty that does it. It's hard to imagine anything doing as good a job.
So, how can the birth-right of one family to reign over us be justified? I suppose, it can't; however, as a role model of resilience and duty, our Queen is exceptional - the fact that she and her Father remained in London during the blitz of the second world war still resonates - and it is to be expected that her heirs will follow her example. There's no doubting too that she and other senior royals work hard, moreso now perhaps than ever, as expectations of them have risen. She has, at least, earned our respect.
There would certainly be no guarantee that any replacement of our monarch would be a sound role model or would earn respect, at least not judging by some of the leaders that manage to get elected to high office around the world. Moreover, a President would be elected, but would surely expect and need a political role beyond that of the figurehead-role our monarch fulfills and, should we go to the lengths of electing a leader, we would also expect that election to carry the weight of some power (otherwise, what would be the point?) yet all the power that needs exercising in our country and all the political duties that need fulfilling are already managed perfectly well by the Prime Minister - a different political leader as Head of State in Britain seems unnecessary. The idea of any of our recent Prime Ministers as Head of State in place of The Queen just doesn't work. We have a cluttered democracy already anyway, with annual elections to one authority or another, interest in and turnout for which is often poor. The quality of democracy doesn't improve by adding another tier to it.
There are obvious cost implications of having our monarchy, but the cost of it has been diminished and should continue to be diminished. Arguably too, we should be careful to condemn the monarchy on the basis of its cost, lest we end up with something less costly but more inferior.
There is, I think, something to be said too for the enduring nature of our monarchy. William provides a direct link back through hundreds of years of history, to medieval times and through all manner of historic events with which his ancestors were directly involved. As fascinating as that is, it is the past and we can not be a backward-looking country. What can be overlooked though, is that William is a link to the future too. He will be King sometime in the mid-twenty-first century; his grandson or grand-daughter will probably be King or Queen for the turn of the twenty-second. In our monarchy, we can see our way into the future; it can offer a sense of certainty about it, implies if we want it to that there is much to look forward to and have hope for and gives us a glimpse of its potential.
Finally, I want to note that should Britain one day choose to abolish the monarchy, it will be a decision taken at the ballot-box, not through a bloody revolution such as those that have happened and continue to happen elsewhere. However I ended up voting and whatever the outcome might be, I am unspeakably thankful to live in a country where I would be accorded the power to peaceably help make the decision.
Yes, I still enjoy the fairy tale! Is that such a bad thing?!
No comments:
Post a Comment