Is it time to park all royal patronage and privilege and separate the monarchy from our state and legislature?
The farcical spectacle of the royal family was on full view last week, culminating in the stripping of all royal titles and honours from the King’s brother, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
Over the weeks, further details of Andrew’s connections with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and sexual assault claims dripped out.
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The response from the palace was a suggested incremental removal of patronage and privilege.
In my opinion, this was a calculated attempt to draw a line under the affair.
But the public’s mood and opprobrium towards Andrew’s uncontrite behaviour would not be quelled, resulting in last week’s private banishment for Andrew.
No longer a prince or an HRH, Andrew will have to make do with alternative freebies.
It’s been reported that King Charles will provide him with a property on the Sandringham estate rent-free, together with a six-figure relocation package and an annual stipend.
Quite handy for Andy.
And not bad for a guy who denies all wrongdoing in relation to the late Virginia Giuffre, despite settling her damages action in the United States for a reported £12 million pounds.
The reports and allegations concerning Andrew’s behaviour seem to encapsulate all seven deadly sins.
It was in the 6th century that Pope Gregory revised the sins to what we now know.
The 13th-century poet and philosopher, Dante Alighieri, considered the seven deadly sins to be corrupt versions of love; lust, gluttony, and greed were excessive or disordered love of good things; and wrath, envy, and pride were perverted love directed toward others’ harm.
Sloth was a deficiency of love.
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The monarchy is literally the fountain of all patronage and privilege in the UK.
The Crown’s prerogative powers of the UK state rest in the King’s hands.
The monarchy is not a benign, ceremonial entity.
On the contrary, it’s an institution that runs through all aspects of our life like Blackpool runs through rock.
We even litigate in the name of His Majesty.
We provide £132m per annum to the royal family’s running costs, and the King owns the £15bn Crown Estate.
Why do we allow this undemocratic and archaic arrangement to continue?
Perhaps because too many people consider the alternative arrangement – more patronage in the hands of tiny elites who control political parties – as even worse.
Walter Bagehot, the economist and essayist, wrote about the importance of the monarchy in his 1867 book, The English Constitution.
He said: “Above all things our royalty is to be reverenced, and if you begin to poke about it you cannot reverence it … Its mystery is its life. We must not let in daylight upon magic”.
Well, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has certainly opened the royal curtains on the monarchy.
We can see them for what they are and what they are not.
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Of the 195 countries in the world, 37 still have a monarchy with the rest either consisting of republics, presidential systems or other forms of rule.
If we want to become a more egalitarian society, we need a written constitution without hereditary patronage and privilege.
If Scotland were to become independent, what would be the point if we remained a constitutional monarchy?
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source uk.news.yahoo.com ’
