Enough Already with the Experiments - Monarchy is the Best Form of Government

[Louis VI the Fat]

A thought has grown in my mind over the years. What if I have been wrong, and a monarchy is the best form of government after all?


Let's face facts:
- Stable states have monarchies. Republican states are instable, prone to irresponsible adventures.
- Modern monarchies are different from the old ones. Even commoners can now climb to the status of monarch.
- The papacy is a monarchy too. This shows that monarchy and meritocracy can go hand-in-hand, to increase that most central funtion of modern monarchies: to be a beacon of morality in our confused postmodern world.
- A quick glance at the difference in the past two centuries between Britain and the failed cesspool that is France should bury the argument for republicanism.


On behalf of all commoners I'd like to offer my sincere apologies to all monarchs, especially the decapitated ones. An apology I would like to extent to their brave commoner supporters, who in the face of opposition of excitable masses have proven with their money and the blood of their children their staunch loyalty to those God has placed above them.


Le républicanisme est mort, vive le roi! Vive la Monarchie!

[Louis VI the Fat]

The magic of the monarchy: The royal moment has come

Prince William has shown he can be a new kind of king. It is time to put away the cynicism and pledge our full-throated support



A few short weeks from now, with the world looking on, William Arthur Philip Louis Windsor will exchange rings with Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, and much of Britain will rejoice. Yet, at such moments, certain voices – this newspaper's included – have long expressed dissent. All this mawkish celebration, they maintain, merely bolsters an anti-democratic institution based on privilege and patronage, a costly anachronism that ought to be abolished. That view is understandable. But it is time for them – for us – to reconsider. A decade ago, the Guardian prominently announced its commitment to republicanism. But Prince William has shown that he can be a new kind of king. That is why, in a significant change of course, we today pledge our full-throated support for the British monarchy.

Let's face it: the current crop of world leaders is far from inspiring. Across the Arab world, dictators battle their own people; at home, attitudes towards Cameron and Clegg alternate between apathy and outrage. In America, the hope that greeted Barack Obama has long since faded. As The King's Speech so vividly reminded us, there are times when only the calming leadership of a hereditary monarch will do; and as the MPs' expenses scandal illustrates, it can be dangerous to trust power-hungry elected officials, who lack the security provided by land ownership and immense wealth. Amid all this, William in particular stands out as something unique: a bastion of tradition with a deeply modern sensibility – not to mention a helicopter pilot's licence. When the time comes, we urge Prince Charles to redouble his focus on his important work in the field of alternative medicine, and to pass the mantle of head of state to his son.
For too long, a hair-shirt tendency on the left has insisted that a commitment to progressive values is incompatible with an appreciation for the magic and wonder of royalty. But in this era of austerity, couldn't we all do with being a bit more "happy and glorious"? Few things, after all, are as likely to lift the spirits of Britain's embattled public sector workers or benefit claimants than the sight of Kate Middleton's sure-to-be-spectacular wedding dress.

The couple themselves, meanwhile, reflect values close to this paper's own. William encapsulates our spirit of internationalism, thanks to his Greek and German heritage on his father's side, and his gap year in Chile. Kate embodies our commitment to gender equality in the way in which she has faced work-life challenges common to many women today, juggling such roles as accessories buyer for Jigsaw and being one of Tatler magazine's top 10 fashion icons. Other royals, too, are surely deserving of recognition: belatedly, for example, we have come to appreciate the crucial work done by Prince Andrew, using his personal connections to plant the seeds of democracy in repressive regimes worldwide.

Beginning today, the Guardian announces a raft of changes designed to ensure that our royal coverage is unrivalled by any other media organisation. We begin an unprecedented month-long, 24-hour royal wedding live blog, offering minute-by-minute coverage of the preparations. We will be recalling correspondents from some less newsworthy parts of the globe, such as north Africa and south-east Asia, so they can focus on palace matters instead. And we will shortly be making available to readers a range of attractive commemorative crockery.
The marriage of a prince to a commoner – a true bridging of class divides, if ever there was one – represents the perfect moment for progressives to commit again to the promise of hereditary monarchy. Great philosophers, from Burke to Andrew Morton, have argued powerfully for the institution's value. In any case, it would be churlish to fight the tide of excitement and optimism currently flooding the nation. It is time to put away the cynicism, and get out the union jacks.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...y-royal-moment

At last Britain's partisan press has discovered that it is in fact the Monarchy which is the true guardian of the working classes of Britain. The symbol of that feature which sets Britain most apart from the continent: social justice.

[Rahwana]

now, will you search the real biological heir of Napoleon?

[Ronin]

Sic semper tyrannis

[Strike For The South]

[Tellos Athenaios]

Poisson d'Avril.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Sic semper tyrannis

You would prefer a Tyranny to a Mo0narchy? Why?

[Furunculus]

Enough Already with the Experiments - Monarchy is the Best Form of Government

I am unsurprisingly unwilling to make any generalisations that support or refute your assertion.

All I will note is that in the case of Britain the constitutional monarchy has served the country very, very well, and that no-one has ever presented any substantial and unequivocal evidence that a change to a republic would provide a net-benefit to the sum of British governance.

Therefore, in the case of Britain, I do not support any move away from the system we already employ.

[Skullheadhq]

"Een drievoudig snoer wordt niet licht verbroken en Gods woord is de band die Oranje en Nederland onverbrekelijk verbindt."
~Isaac da Costa, 1831

Long live the Monarchy! Down with Republicanism and the curses of the Enlightment!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

inb4 Frag's anti-orangist rant based on conspiracy theories ;)

[Viking]

This is one of few topics in domestic politics that has the ability to interest me...the Republic of Norway is inevitable, it will come in due time.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

This is one of few topics in domestic politics that has the ability to interest me...the Republic of Norway is inevitable, it will come in due time.

Why?

[Sarmatian]

Nah, Louis has just found his grand-grand-grand-grandfather guillotine in the garage and thought how cool it would be to use it again and there's a label on it "works best on monarchs" so... Gives the world a shining example of French know-how as well, double trouble...

[Viking]

Why?

My wishes tend to become reality, don't they?

I think it is easier then ever to topple the monarchy at present; and that it should become even easier as time passes - for various reasons (some local). More public awareness on the topic, and the balance might be tipped.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Therefore, in the case of Britain, I do not support any move away from the system we already employ.

I fully support a British monarchy! If only because I am probably a successor to the British throne.


I shall have to work on downplaying that inconvenient Catholic baptism a bit, but other than that, I'm pretty sure I'm eligable to the throne through various lines of descendancy. In fact, from the looks of it, the whole of Europe is, save for a handful of convicts in the Australian outback and some scattered pockets of Irish catholics.

[Jaguara]

Well, my girlfriend has a royal French bloodline all the way back through one of the Louis's to Charlemagne...so she is probably somewhere like 1,354,846 in line for the French throne...if ever reinstated.

Better odds than the lottery folks!

[gaelic cowboy]

April fools no doubt

[Fragony]

Hail the monarchy, a neverending source of collaboration, incest, warcrimes, corruption and fraud. Some think the nazi's are gone

[HoreTore]

April fools no doubt

Seconded.

[Furunculus]

all the wonderful theory-crafting and snide parody-making does nothing to answer the question posed below:

All I will note is that in the case of Britain the constitutional monarchy has served the country very, very well, and that no-one has ever presented any substantial and unequivocal evidence that a change to a republic would provide a net-benefit to the sum of British governance.

Therefore, in the case of Britain, I do not support any move away from the system we already employ.