It’s nearly a month now since the Royal Wedding and thinking back on it now I think of the pride in my country that I felt on that marvellous occasion. The pageantry of such occasions is probably the only thing left in the world that we British still do better than anybody else. It causes the world to gasp in awe at the sheer fairytale of it all and brings a splash of colour into our lives, in a country that often feels grey and dank.

I am an unashamed Royalist. I accept many of the arguments of the modernists, but I see no reason why monarchy cannot sit comfortably alongside progress. You can support the alternative vote, gay rights, reform of the drugs laws or anything else you care to name and still wave your flag in The Mall as the carriage rides past.

The wedding of an elected president wouldn’t send us into such outbursts of national pride and joy. A transient official wouldn’t present that same feeling of continuity. He wouldn’t have brought people out into bunting bedecked streets for huge communal parties or caused a third of the world’s population to gawp at the spectacle on TV and wish they had something like it.

The Republicans argue though, that at least a President is elected and in democratic terms, his place at the head of state is the will of the people. Fair enough. The problem then, is that presidents have power. They wield it, often without the consent of the people. Take the current coalition…. Cameron and Clegg can legitimately claim to have a democratic mandate to cut jobs and services and yet, millions of people who are not of that political persuasion cry “We didn’t vote for this”.

The difference with our unelected, archaic, ruling-by-accident-of-birth monarchy, is that they have no power at all. The Queen is a nominal head of state only. Her head is merely the resting place for the Crown that all our legal and social institutions perform their duties in the name of. She herself has absolutely no power whatsoever.

There was a time when the crown had power… real power. Kings and Queens ruled almost as demi gods but as the power of the monarch has dwindled so has the abuse of power that they once wielded. The monarchy has had to reshape itself… reinvent itself. It has transformed itself from absolute rule to being above politics. The process is ongoing and the monarch that doesn’t move with the times puts himself at great risk of becoming an anachronism.

The last King, George VI did his best to stammer out a speech and raise the spirits of the country at war. His daughter, Elizabeth has had to watch the Empire finally crumble but she has inspired the rise of a Commonwealth of nations united by her own unique personality and regal presence. She is almost completely free of ego… is happy to eat her breakfast cereal out of a Tupperware bowl and do her job tirelessly, without complaint and without ever showing the slightest weariness. There must be days when she groans at the sight of her diary, but she gets on with it, serving the people with absolute devotion and without the slightest hint of boredom or impatience.…. And she does it all without ever becoming involved in politics.

And this is what we want from our monarchy. We want a head of state who does it all but without becoming embroiled in the shabby, sleazy world of politics. The Queen is above that grubby, shoddy business and it doesn’t matter if you are a Tory or a Socialist… a rebellious Scot screaming for independence or a Little Englander in his semi detached suburban castle. The Queen belongs to us all and she unites us as nobody else can.

Charles is a different kettle of fish. He is far too political for my liking. It’s true that he has many virtues. He cared about the environment before it was trendy to do so but he is too keen to get involved in politics, something his mother has assiduously avoided in nearly 60 years on the throne.

It is not the place of the heir to the throne to get involved in political campaigning, yet he has criticised government policies on health, education, foreign policy and human rights. He recently published a book called Harmony which is little short of a political manifesto that he has described as a “Call to revolution”.

If he isn’t careful, he could end up on the end of an altogether different kind of revolution. The monarch shouldn’t have strong political opinions, or if he does, he should keep them to himself.

The chronicler of the British Constitution, Walter Bagshot wrote: The Crown is commonly hidden, like a mystery and sometimes paraded like a pageant but in neither case is it contentious. The nation is divided into parties but the Crown is of no party

So, when Charles eventually ascends to the Throne, will he shrug off his political views? Rather ominously, he recently told Vanity Fair “I think people don’t quite understand how much it requires to put your head above the parapet. But I feel deeply, I always have done so I can only assume that it’s something that’s sort of inherent”


I think he should be wary. If he angers the public, or divides them along political lines they won’t put up with him. The monarchy enjoys huge public support…. Far more than any political party will ever command in the country, but it only exists as long as the public consents.

William will make a fine King. He is grounded, level headed and he seems to have a strong sense of duty…. Of what is required of him. His new wife, Kate is nothing like William’s mother. She has none of Diana’s ego, or lust for self promotion. If she were an American they would say Kate has The Right Stuff. The question is, will William ever become King..?

Already, public opinion seems to lean towards skipping a generation and passing the crown directly to William when Queen Elizabeth dies. Constitutionally, that is not an option, but it should tell us something. It indicates that the public is at the very least, nervous about Charles. If his politicking damages the Crown, public support could quickly evaporate and the Republicans would be eager to pounce.

I sincerely hope that Charles can shake off his activist tendency and assume the non partisan position of his mother and ensure that the constitutional monarchy prevails.