Of the nearly 30 monarchies in the world today, far and away the most famous is that of the
United Kingdom.
From the death of Princess Diana, to the Royal Wedding, to the queen’s many hats, the international
media seems to be obsessed with Britain’s royal family.
But there is a republican movement in the United Kingdom that actually wants to see
an end to this centuries-old institution, as it reportedly costs taxpayers millions
of dollars every year.
So, where did Britain’s royal family come from, and what role do they play in society
today?
Around the year 827, King Egbert of the region “Wessex” conquered kingdoms in every direction,
eventually becoming the first King of England.
Over the course of roughly 700 years, England saw dozens of kings from multiple family lineages.
But in the late 1600’s, the Royal line of succession came to a standstill, as the King
and his wife had only one legitimate heir who ultimately bore no children.
Foreseeing an end to the family line, Parliament passed the Act of Settlement in 1701, which
stated that the royal lineage should restart with one of the King’s distant relatives,
Sophia of Hanover.
Although Sophia ultimately died before inheriting the throne, her heirs took over the line of
succession, beginning with her son, King George the First in 1714.
In the more than 300 years since, all British monarchs have descended from this line.
The Act of Settlement not only limited the throne to the ‘legitimate heirs of Sophia
of Hanover’, but also excluded all Roman Catholics and those who marry Roman Catholics.
The British monarchy has been at odds with the Catholic Church since King Henry VIII
broke off from Catholicism in the 16th Century.
Henry the 8th wanted to divorce his wife but couldn’t under the principles of Catholicism,
so he formed his own “Church of England”.
Traditional laws of succession also stated that royal sons inherit the throne before
daughters, and older children are prioritized over younger.
However in 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that all future monarchs will be
able to marry Catholics, and that future rulers would no longer by limited by the gender-preference
rule.
The role of the UK’s monarch is to act as head of state, and is limited to ceremonial,
non-partisan duties.
This includes bestowing honors, hosting dinners for foreign leaders, traveling abroad and
appointing the Prime Minister, as recommended by the House of Commons.
When a monarch dies, their heir automatically takes power, hence the phrase, “the king
is dead, long live the king!”
Queen Elizabeth II took over in 1952 after her father died.
When she passes, her eldest son, Prince Charles is next in line for the throne.
After Charles is Prince William, then Prince George, and then so on.
In fact there are more than 5,000 descendants of Sophia of Hanover who are eligible to succeed
the throne, according to the language of the Act of Settlement.
Monarchs cannot abdicate the throne unless they have approval from parliament.
Abdication is extremely rare, although it did happen in 1936, when King Edward VIII
relinquished the crown to marry an American commoner, who was, to the dislike of the Protestant
church, in the midst of her second divorce.
Queen Elizabeth II is the UK’s longest reigning monarch, and still plays an active ceremonial
and political role in London.
It doesn’t appear that Brits would have it any other way, as 2016 polls suggested
that the Queen has a 75 percent approval rating.
Despite rising pressure from anti-monarchists, it’s unlikely this historical institution
will dissolve anytime soon.
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The British Monarchy is an old tradition, with almost exclusively ceremonial purposes,
and the same is true of most monarchies around the world.
But why would so many countries maintain such a seemingly unnecessary, and expensive tradition.
Why do we still have monarchies?
Find out, in this video.
One of the most successful absolute monarchies is in Vatican City, which is governed by the
pope.
The rest are primarily in the Middle East and Africa; these nations tend to be plagued
by human rights abuses because there aren't sufficient checks on the monarch's supreme
power.
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