It's taken me a long time to realise
that the British monarchy is just an anachronism of history and
serves no justifiable purpose in modern society. The arguments are
just as well served for any monarchy, but as I am British I will
consider my own.
So why did I previously accept the idea
of supporting the monarchy and all that it involves. On the surface
the reasons are simple. My father was a product of his generation,
patriotic and loyal to the Queen. This naturally affected my ideas
in early life and was reinforced by attending a public school where
loyalty to the Queen was almost part of the curriculum. Thereafter
being a navigation officer in the merchant navy my work companions
were generally conservative. When I left the sea I worked in an
institution that was so close to the monarchy that I could see some
of the anomalies of royalty and it's supporters at first hand. With
my background it was inevitable that I was going to have some sort of
allegiance to the Queen but began to question it when I was given a
glancing insight during the previously mentioned employment.
There are also other influences which
maintain the loyalty of the general population. British television,
especially the news, propagates the notion of the Royal Family in our
psyche. There are many hours or even days coverage of such occasions
as a royal wedding, jubilee or state opening of parliament. During these broadcasts there is general homage to the Queen by the television reporters and
the people they are filming. Members of Parliament,who seem to argue
about anything and everything are nearly always most respectful when
considering the Queen and her family. Even newspapers, who will
bring down every celebrity and notable person given half a chance
will not dare to seriously challenge or criticise the institution in
any way. This is big brother at it's worst, a perpetual
indoctrination that even the strongest mind would find it hard to
overcome.
So let's start with a clean slate.
Suppose the world didn't have countries with royalty and the idea had
never been promoted before. Then a person who is charismatic and
influential puts the following idea to the British public.
“Ladies and gentlemen, instead of having a president in our country
I propose an unelected leader. This person and members of their
family will carry out certain functions similar to that of a
president. This new 'regime' has the power of veto of any
legislation as it sees fit but if this is exercised it is possible
that their authority may be curtailed by removing this privilege.
This new head of state will also be head of the Church of England and
therefore spiritual head of just under half of the population in the
United Kingdom and many more throughout the world. We will provide
several large houses, palaces, estates and give the new head of state
a life of luxury with servants and staff. We have decided that the
Royal Household will be exempted from all aspects of the freedom of
information act and so will be veiled in a certain amount of secrecy
despite being funded by the tax payer. We as a nation will provide
private transportation for the family and certain members of the
household, including flights, road vehicles and trains. This new
head of state will be expected to carry out certain government and
civic functions but generally the amount of work carried out will be
of their own choosing. On the death of the proposed monarch the
oldest child will inherit the title of head of state, who of course
will not be elected. The appointment will generally be irrespective
of their competence and ability. The monarch can carry out their job
as they see fit and will not loose this position should they perform
poorly. The estimated annual cost to the nation will be in the
region of £150 million. To fund this we will discontinue 5000
nurses, doctors and teachers posts.”
Not many sane
people would accept the above proposal. Because of wholesale
marketing which is second to none and as it maintains the status quo
of our history it is not just accepted but embraced by a vast
majority of the British people. There are many arguments put forward
by royalists in favour of the monarchy but on close inspection none
of the ones I have seen have solid foundations.
People of
Britain, we have been brainwashed in ways that Kim Jon Un ( the
supreme leader of North Korea) could only dream of.