The King: The Guardian of The

Constitution

A king, known to be the one true ruler of a country, or to be more precise and
factual, by referring to the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of what a king is, it is
defined as; “The male ruler of an independent state, especially one who inherits the
position by right of birth”. It may be factually correct, but is that really the only
thing known of the king? I would hope not. To be the head of the monarch, one
must ensure that they can be the guardian of the constitution. As the ruler of the
monarchy, the king must ensure that the laws and regulations within the
constitution are not broken to protect the people of a country, to live in a fair
society, since the monarch holds the highest power and authority. The king fulfills
a crucial role in being the guardian of the constitution as one with the utmost
authority in the monarchy. This role demands tremendous responsibility and it isn’t
an easy task, that’s for sure.

All that “being the guardian of the constitution” might’ve gotten you wondering,
what does it really entails to be one, to be said guardian? A key aspect of being
said guardian is being the symbolic role of the country. Think about it, the king is
often the symbol of a country or nation, and especially the symbol of the nation’s
constitution. With the modern world, the king is the symbolic head of the
constitutional monarchy who serves as the unifying figure that transcends all the
political views and conflicts that are happening in their nation. With the amount of
culture and historical values that the monarchy holds, they naturally become the
symbol of a country. For instance, when you think of the United Kingdom, I
believe that you’d immediately think about the royal family there, they’re such a
big symbol of the nation you would immediately think about the late Queen
 Elizabeth II, the current king, King Charles III, maybe thought of Prince Harry or
Prince William, and many more members of the royal family. This shows how
much of a symbol the monarch can be, and consequently how it can affect the
constitution of the nation. The king is there as the representation of the nation’s
unity and continuity.

Equally, being the king of a whole nation is no easy task. Not only does it require
an amazing set of leadership skills, but the king is also responsible for completing
many difficult tasks as the guardian of the constitution. To give an example, the
king plays a vital role in mediating and resolving political conflicts within their
nation, as their position of neutrality enables them to be fair and just, perfect for
resolving said conflict. Being on the neutral side isn’t an easy thing and would be a
demanding task, as it is human nature to be siding with someone in a conflict, but
as the monarch, you can’t and shouldn’t be siding nor should you be favoring any
particular party as to show your utmost position of neutrality. This way, the king
will always be fair when resolving conflicts so as to not stir up any bad emotions in
either party. By doing so, the king would be setting an example to the citizens by
showing that being fair can be a prominent way to resolve issues, may it be a small
or a massive one at that.

Furthermore, the king’s role as the guardian of the constitution also leads to the
king being entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring the stability of their nation.
What I meant by that is the king being the one responsible for the upholding of the
principles of constitution which simultaneously helps with preventing abuse of
power by the government. We’ve seen it happened before, the government taking
advantage of their people for the benefits of themselves. Them being in a higher
status of power had made them abuse their powers like it's nothing. This is where
the king’s role as the guardian of the constitution comes in. Being at an even higher
power than the government, the king is ought to ensure the stability of political
power that those government bodies have. The monarch is also ought to set certain
boundaries for the government as to not cause any issues or cases of abusing their
powers, while also making sure that they won’t or unable to find any loopholes in
the principles of constitution.

In addition to the point above, the concept of the king being the guardian of the
constitution is important in the framework of the monarchy. Without it, efforts of
upholding the principles will go to waste just like that. An example to be taken was
what had happened in French history in 1793. During this period of history, the
French monarchy was represented by King Louis XVI, who had failed to fill his
role as the guardian of the constitution since he was known to be indecisive which
was considered to be Louis’ weakness. It had caused him to struggle during
decision making and had lacked the authority that was needed to succeed as the
monarch. What’s more, he was brought to trial for a case of treason when proof of
Louis' counter-revolutionary beliefs and correspondence with foreign powers was
discovered during the French Revolution. The trial had ended in the death of him
as a king, when he was executed by guillotine on the 21st of January 1793. This
shows that the failure to fulfill the role of the guardian of the constitution can have
dire consequences, not only for the king but also for all of the monarchy and their
people.

Next on the topic, another one of the king’s roles as the guardian of the constitution
is to represent the nation on an international level. The king is there to act as a
representative of our nation, bringing it to an international level. To give an
example, the king would form a relationship with our neighboring countries or
even countries further out by forming what’s called, diplomatic relations. With the
said diplomatic relations, the king would be able to share our constitutional
principles and values with the monarch of another nation to further enhance the
country’s relations. The relations could also lead to our country helping them in
times of need if anything were to happen, and vice versa if something awful were
to ever happen in our country. To give an example, in the event of a natural
disaster, an economic crisis, or any other challenging situations that our nation can
go through, a helping hand from another nation would massively help us from an
economic standpoint so we can get back on our feet without any problem. The
support that is given to our nation would help for efforts of recovering and
rebuilding our country.

Subsequently, the king also had a role as the protector of minority rights. Being the
guardian of the constitution, a king needs to always protect and care for the
minorities of their nation and serve as the unifying figure for the people of the
nation, making sure conflicts between them don't happen. By promoting inclusivity
of the minorities, as well as ensuring protections of all citizens, regardless of their
background and beliefs, the king would have fulfilled his role as the guardian of
the constitution. Additionally, the king will gain the respect of the citizens and will
always be upheld by them, had the monarch ensured the constitutional rights for
the minorities. With this, the king would have fostered a sense of equality amongst
the citizens, and consequently strengthened the unity of the nation. As a case in
point, the former leader of the United Kingdom, the late Queen Elizabeth II played
a significant role in promoting inclusivity and cultural diversity, such as the
establishment of the Commonwealth, that had brought together nations of diverse
background and cultures. It was established to promote peace and prosperity
amongst the nations.

To conclude my essay on this topic, it shows that the role as the guardian of the
constitution is one that is important to every nation out there. May there be a
difference in culture, backgrounds or history, the king is always of utmost
importance to the country to play the role of the guardian of the constitution. From
the king being the symbolic role of a nation, to the protector of minorities in said
nation, it shows that the monarch’s job isn’t something so simple. Said role extends
beyond the mere inheritance of his position to become the king, as shown with
points I've given above. This modern era we live in shows that a king goes beyond
that of its definition, taking on tough responsibilities and duties, by upholding the
nation’s principles, to keep the nation as harmonious and peaceful for as long as
they can.