British monarchy has a very long and eventful history.

It is considered to be one of the

oldest still reigning monarchies in the whole world. Although most advanced and democratic

countries have abandoned their monarchies and established republics instead, Britain is still

attached to this ancient system dating back to the Middle Ages. Beginning with King Athelstan

of England who defeated the Viking invaders and seized the whole of England under his control

in 925 AD. From that time on, The Royal Family ruled the British Empire for more than one

thousand years. Throughout this long period, the role of the sovereigns has witnessed many

changes and modifications. After King Henry VIII broke free from the Catholic Church, and the

monarchy had an absolute power over the political and religious institutions of the country. In

1688 and during the reign of king James II, the Glorious Revolution or the Bloodless Revolution

broke out in England resulting in a limited monarchy. The monarch has no more ultimate power

over the state. Many historians believed that this revolution was the first step toward a

constitutional monarchy. In our modern age, the British Monarchy, headed by Queen Elizabeth

II, has become no more than just a symbol with no political or constitutional power whatsoever.

The status que of the British Monarchy brings to the mind many questions. Why does a

democratic country like Britain still have a monarchy? And why the British people still love and

hold on to the Royal family?

The answers to these questions are more complex than what it is thought because

monarchism is connected to not only politics but also to almost all fields of the English life and
culture. From a political standpoint, Queen Elizabeth II, her hires, and all the members of the

royal family don’t enjoy any political power worth mentioning. The queen’s position as “the

Head of the State” is only symbolic and no longer has a political or executive role in the British

political world as the Royal Website stated. The main value and worth of the royal British family

in today’s world could be found in its economic impact. Although they have no real job in the

British state, and they are being continually criticized by the British tax payers as they spend a

lot of many on royal residences, events, and weddings, many people ignore the fact that such

events have a huge financial value. Many people all around the world still look up to the

monarchy as a reminder of the glorious past. Their conducts are constantly under the lenses of

paparazzi. They attract the attention of public media in all of its forms in the same way as

Hollywood and football celebrities do. Such an enormous interest in the royal family results in an

incredible amount of revenues from tourism and sponsorship. Prince William’s and Kate

Middleton’s wedding, for example, attracted unbelievable global interest to the extent that 2

billion people all over the world watched the royal wedding as the Telegraph reported. Such a

number of viewers goes way beyond any Hollywood movie, any sport event, or any political

conference humanity has ever witnessed. The Guardian reported that the wedding “will trigger a

tourism boom that will last several years, eventually pulling in an extra 4m visitors and some

£2bn for the country's coffers.” Not only wedding but also royal palaces and castles yield

financial income. Generally speaking, the revenues from tourist visits to these monuments are
estimated $694 million (£550 million) annually. The influence of the Monarchy on the British

economy cannot be denied.

What makes things even more puzzling is the fact that, after more than one thousand

years of its establishment, the British people are still convinced that they should be ruled by a

monarchy even in an age where republics are the most common and suitable political system.

Surprisingly, opposition to monarchic system has slightly been changing over the years. Ipsos

Mori conducted a poll measuring the supporters of a republic which showed that the percentage

was “18% in 1969, 18% in 1993, 19% in 2002 and 18% last year” describing this poll as

"probably the most stable trend we have ever measured". The answer to this mysterious

relationship between the British citizens and their monarchy lies, it is believed, in the British

identity, pride and culture. The British society holds the belief that the Queen is a symbol of the

nation’s pride. Monarchism will have no value if explained in terms of logic. It is something

beyond the grasp of reason to be explained for the British society. The British journalist Walter

Bagehot explained this notion in his work English Constitution by stating that “"People yield a

deference to what we may call the theatrical show of society, the climax of the play is the

Queen." (44) The Queen is indeed an emotional and nationalistic apex, something which cannot

be understood only by those who felt and are still feeling such emotions. Another point worth

mentioning has to do with the general human psyche. Humans, in general, are more inclined to

habit and stability. We always feel safer with the known, the common, and the traditional. The
British people have seen all their glorious days, from the rise of the great British Empire to the

outstanding victories in the two world wars, under the role of the Crown. “Monarchy represented

a bulwark against rapid and scary change,” as Mark Easton from BBC News has noticed. The

world cannot imagine that England will have one day a president living in Buckingham Palace; it

will always be the resting place of kings and queens.

To sum up, despite the fact that monarchies are defined primarily as a political system,

the British royal family still maintains its power up to this very day not because the Queens is

ruling the British Isles with an iron fist. The economic value and the picture drawn in the

people’s mind of the monarchy far exceeds the crown’s political power. Queen Elizabeth and her

long line of predecessors are figures of Britain’s pride and valor, and the Englishmen will always

sing “God save the Queen”.

 Works Cited

Bagehot, Walter. The English Constitution: By Walter Bagehot. Henry S. King & Co., 65
Cornhill, 1994. Pdf.

The English Constitution is a political book by the well-known English journalist,

economic and critic Walter Bagehot. Bagehot has many other works in different fields to
his name including Physics and Politics and Lombard Street: A description of the Money
Market. The main subject the book discusses is the political system of England. It is also
considered a response on the attacks of journalists and statesmen in the “New World” on
the English crown and form of government. Bagehot’s main aim behind writing this book
is to defend the current political and governmental system of England against the
republicans’ attempts to change the status que. The information mentioned in this book can
be considered correct and objective depending on the other sources mentioned in this
article where the writer depicted faithfully the public opinion about the political system in
Britain. The book can be seen as relevant to the main theme of the article because it deals
with the emotional bond between the English Crown and the English people. The English
Constitution was written in 1867, so the information might be somehow historically
irrelevant. However, in comparison with other more updated sources, it is clear that the
information might hold some relevancy despite being old and outdated.

Easton, Mark. “Why Does the UK Love the Monarchy?” BBC News, BBC, 29 May 2012,
www.bbc.com/news/uk-18237280.

“Why Does the UK love the Monarchy?” is an article by the podcaster and home editor in
the BBC Mark Easton. The article was first published in 2012 on the BBC website. Easton
wrote many books including The Crime of our Live and Britain. The article deals with the
reasons which make the British people still hold on to their monarchy from different
perspectives. The author depends on objective sources in strengthening his viewpoint by
using different statistic from governmental sources. The information can be clearly
 regarded as relevant to the main topic of the article because the two of them talk about the
same issue.

“Monarchy Popular as Ever Ahead of Queen's 90th Birthday Celebrations.” Ipsos MORI, 15
Apr. 2016, www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/monarchy-popular-ever-ahead-queens-90th-
birthday-celebrations.

Ipsos MORI is a company specialized in measurement and polling. It is also a member of

the British Polling Council and Market Research Society. Polling and date are used from
this source to prove that the popularity of the British Monarchy didn’t change over the
years. MORI depends on realistic and objective surveys in conducting their measurements.

“Royal Wedding: A Stylish Marriage for William and Kate.” The Guardian, Guardian News and
Media, 29 Apr. 2011, www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/apr/29/royal-wedding-william-kate-
marriage.

“Royal Wedding: A Stylish Marriage for William and Kate.” is an article written by the
English journalist Caroline Davies. The article was published in 2011 in The Guardian.
The Guardian needs no introduction. It is a British daily newspaper working in the field of
journalism for more than 200 years. A lot of reviews believe that The Guardian is an
objective and trustworthy source of information. The article deals with the royal wedding
of Prince William from a financial point of view. The article stated the real incomes of the
wedding as researches pointed out. This article was quoted to stress the significance of
royal events of all types for the British Treasury and tourism in general.