Rule, Britannia!

Currently I have the good fortune of studying the English Civil War and the Cromwellian Protectorate. Insightful though it has been, this morning I found myself growing increasingly depressed with our pathetic efforts at a “Revolution”. Let’s face it our “English Revolution” was just a loud, unnecessary parliamentary tantrum. It achieved next to nothing, except huge public debt and an unstable, bickering regime (sound familiar?!).  It was infact the peaceful ‘Glorious Revolution’ some 20 years later that really changed the British constitutional landscape, yet even the Chartists, of the 1840s, with their fruitless efforts for proletarian representation, are hailed as the more radical. We had a King, laboriously executed him (nothing, compared to the fêted guillotine of Louis XVI); witnessed the failure of a handful of aristocrat-dominated Parliaments, a Republic, a military dictatorship, and then blushingly re-established another ringlet ridden monarch. Pfff. We came full circle, with little improvement. Indeed, it seems that our revolution, even back then, subscribed to traditional British principles – the restoration of the monarchy was a comfortable last resort, not the die-hard glorious ideology. Perhaps the high point of the turmoil was when, as a result of Pride’s Purge (a so-called ‘keystone’ in the creation of the English Republic), the excluded Parliamentary members headed straight to the nearest Pub (Ironically named ‘Hell’). I do, at least, raise my rusty ale chalice to this jovial side-note.

I realise that this post will probably not appeal to all – it may be just a blur of meaningless chronology to you. But what it all really comes down to is this: will Great Britain ever be anything other than a constitutional monarchy? Will we always have the faces of a haphazard Hanoverian royal family on our coins?  It could be argued that before the Will & Kate’s wedding last year, a proportion of the population (especially youths) were disillusioned with the monarchy and what it stood for.  Just googling ‘anti-monarchy uk’ returns a countless number of hits (http://www.throneout.com/ ; http://www.republic.org.uk/ are amongst the results) However, I think it’s safe to say that the couple has given a breath of fresh air to the role – that much was evident from the more contemporary ceremony and the infamous open-topped car finale. Furthermore, Britain experienced a much-needed ‘bringing-together’ in 2011, with tremendous results. I fully expect that this year, with the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee (if you make it past 64 years on the throne Lizzy I will openly curtsey to you then and there, wherever I am…) will be just as exciting and will undoubtedly appeal to the partisan element in us all – no matter how ‘hip’ or ‘leftie’ we are. Britons, prepare yourself for another rare conservative moment: I believe that for the time being, the monarchy fits the United Kingdom like an iron-cast glove… we might as well cling to it ;-)