The British public still broadly favours the royals but support is waning among younger people
King Charles was presented with the Scottish crown jewels this week at a ceremony in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh to mark his coronation.
Among the wellwishers and onlookers were 200 protesters who “claimed a prime spot outside the cathedral”, said The Telegraph.
- SEE MORE Charles III and the future of the UK monarchy: looking abroad for clues
- SEE MORE Slavery and the monarchy: time for a royal reckoning?
- SEE MORE What are the pros and cons of the monarchy?
Speaking at the pro-republic protest was Scottish Greens co-leader and minister Patrick Harvie, who said he wants the UK to “be a modern, democratic republic where the power of the head of state is elected rather than inherited”.
A YouGov poll for BBC “Panorama” in April “showed support for the monarchy”, with 58% of those polled “preferring the institution to an elected head of state”, said Insider. But enthusiasm among younger people “remained significantly lower”, with just 32% between 18 and 24 supporting the monarchy.
“Nothing lasts forever,” the i news site added, and Nick Barber, professor of constitutional law and theory at Oxford University’s Trinity College, “feels certain that one day the nation will command its king or queen to stand down”. But what would the UK be like if this were to happen?
What did the papers say?
The monarchy “works really well when you have a monarch like the late Queen, who is able to act as a figurehead”, said Barber. But because “you appoint the monarch on the basis of birth”, sooner or later somebody “who doesn’t have the talents to perform that role” would be appointed.
Although it “would almost certainly take decades at least”, the site continued, but Barber thinks “it’s inevitable that we will move to a republic”.
Countries including Greece and Bulgaria have abolished their monarchies “through public referendum”, said Insider.
Britain would need a “two-step” referendum, Robert Hazell, professor of government and the constitution at the Constitution Unit of University College London, told i news. The first would be for the people to decide if they wanted to become a republic, he said. The second would be on how to choose the head of state.
Barbados became a republic in 2021. Then, “two days after the Queen’s death”, Antigua and Barbuda’s prime minister said the nation would “probably hold a referendum” within three years.
A “stampede” of republicanism isn’t expected immediately” but there may be a “domino effect around the Commonwealth”, Barber added. And he thinks “we’ll see Australia and New Zealand and possibly Canada saying they no longer what to be monarchies” within the next decade. This “would come too soon to encourage British voters to do the same straight away” but it may “begin a gradual shift”.
Without a royal family, “the people of Britain would have a more fair and even democracy”, according to The Latch. This is because it would mean the end of a process called the Queen’s or King’s consent, under which more than 1,000 laws were “vetted by Queen Elizabeth and King Charles before they got the stamp of approval”.
The House of Lords “would likely go” too, with an end to Parliament’s second chamber meaning an end to the 92 hereditary peers who “are from bloodlines that inherit political power”.
What next?
Abolishing the monarchy would, however, carry implications for Britain’s place in the world. “We live in an era of soft power,” said royal writer Robert Hardman at a debate hosted by The New Statesman in May. “Of course the monarch is irrational,” he added. “But the fact is, it has served us incredibly well, and it would be an act of monumental folly and self-harm to get rid of it.”
Some “fear a republic could lead to a politician grabbing even more power” than the prime minister holds, said i news. An alternative may be “people who have never held political office” appointed as heads of state, said Hazell. An example is the “largely ceremonial” Irish precedency.
Buckingham Palace “could become a permanent tourist attraction” in the event the monarchy was abolished and the King “were to officially move out”, said Insider. The palace belongs to the Crown Estate, but “is not the private property of the King”, according to its official website.
This would also apply to Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. It’s likely either Balmoral Castle or Sandringham “could be chosen as a new permanent residence”.
While “it’s possible that Charles would retire from public life if the monarchy was abolished”, the younger royals such as Prince William and Kate Middleton “would follow Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s lead and try to shape their own careers”.
