United Kingdom: between monarchy and future

It is unknown how much longer they will last and whether they will be in force at the end of this century. The most recent coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in the United Kingdom revives the debate on the future of the monarchy in a century marked by a profound generational change and, above all, by young people who are less attached to symbols, traditions, rites and heads of state by divine right and by blood.  

In 2023, a total of 44 sovereign states have different types of monarchies: parliamentary (the monarch is the head of state with a symbolic and representative role); elective-theocratic (like the Vatican); absolutist monarchies (Saudi Arabia) or rotating monarchies (in Malaysia and Brunei) among other more traditional models followed by some countries in Africa.  

This form of power and rule emerged hand in hand with the earliest civilisations, in the newly formed polis, and some are as old as 3,000 BC, such as in Egypt and Mesopotamia. 

In the course of time, history has been stained with blood to overthrow several, as in Russia or France in favour of a republican government. Nevertheless, twelve monarchies survive in Europe: the United Kingdom, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Andorra and Vatican City.

The United Kingdom has its own peculiarities. The enthronement of King Charles III in Westminster Abbey also makes it the head of the Commonwealth of 54 sovereign, independent and semi-independent countries, most of which share historical ties with the United Kingdom, from 1950 to date. Of these, a total of 14 countries are adherents of the British monarchy. 

Although it does not imply any submission to the Crown, it does respect the figure of the monarch, in this case Charles III, as was the case with his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died on 8 September 2022. 

Moreover, this monarchy is also special because of everything that surrounds it, not just the pomp and circumstance, but because it retains with time a certain phlegm of a past that continues to resist dying. 

Nowhere in the world is the monarchy as beloved a symbol as in the United Kingdom, at least as it was felt in the long reign of Elizabeth II. At the age of 26 she ascended the throne in 1952 and after seven decades on the throne, her life was snuffed out at the age of 96, when she died at Balmoral Castle. 

In seventy years, great world events have taken place: from the the post-war period, the Cold War, the anti-colonial movements in Africa and Asia, the modernisation and expansion of the middle class, and conflicts, invasions, wars, and crucial terrorist attacks such as those of 11 September 2001 in the United States. To the monarch Elizabeth II, it was of course her country's turn to join the Economic Community on 1 January 1973 and then mutate into the European Union (EU) from which her country would end up leaving on 30 January 2020, after a disastrous Brexit.  

Suddenly it seemed that she would be eternal on the throne, but her death on 8 September last year put all the spotlight on the heir to the throne: Charles, the Prince of Wales.

His full Christian name is Charles Philip Arthur George and at 74 he begins a reign in a nation guided by a parliamentary monarchy and does so hand in hand with his great love Camilla Parker-Bowles, whose idyll he maintained even while married to Diana Spencer. Princess Diana died in a freak car accident on 31 August 1997. 

What can be expected from the reign of Charles III? In this regard, I spoke to two well-known experts on the monarchy and Royal Courts who, not only because of their profession but also because of various circumstances, have contact with the aristocracy in Spain, the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.

In Gustavo Egusquiza's opinion, the British monarchy has become closer to the people, especially after the death of Diana of Wales, which marked a turning point for the British monarchy. 

"Queen Elizabeth II realised this and this closeness will surely be carried on by King Charles III. However, in order to survive, it has to modernise the monarchy and be exemplary; I believe that they will reduce costs in order to have a more modern and reduced monarchy", he is convinced.

In this sense, he adds, it is a trend in European monarchies to reduce the hard core of the royal families: "We see it right here, it is the case of the Spanish Royal Court. And Charles and Camilla will be the hard core followed by Prince William".

For the writer, monarchies in general have a very difficult time surviving in the 21st century, above all because they are unelected institutions and above all they are anachronistic.  

Sometimes there seems to be a certain fanaticism for the British monarchy... 

The older generations certainly do, but the younger ones do not. In fact, a survey was recently carried out and the majority of young people expressed their desire for a change: to leave the monarchy in favour of a republic. The monarchy faces a challenge and that is that these younger generations identify with it and for that, you have to be there on the streets. A monarch does not need a vote, but he does need the public support of his subjects. 

Egusquiza is a prominent journalist specialising in luxury travel who stayed at Balmoral Castle a couple of months before Queen Elizabeth II died. Of that exclusive experience he recalled that "it was already known that the monarch was in a serious condition, that was known in the Queen's inner circle" because she was suffering from "bone cancer", an illness that was only revealed to a small circle.

"In fact, the day I left Balmoral the chauffeur, who was a local person and knew the Queen very well, told me that the Queen would die shortly after the Platinum Jubilee celebration and she did. For me, it was a farewell to a stage because I have lived in the United Kingdom, I studied there, I worked there and I have been related to many friends of the British royal family and it has been a great loss", he says melancholic. 

This author from Bilbao has no doubt that Charles III will be a good king "although he has the handicap that he will always be compared to his mother and comparisons are odious" and in this case even more so.

"He is an austere man, he likes nature and he is also known for giving his opinions and now he will have to avoid giving them because kings do not have opinions, least of all on political issues... he is a symbolic figure; it means he reigns, but he does not govern. Besides, he knows he has to leave a good legacy to his son, Prince William," he says. 

There are also two burning issues that he inherits, Scotland and the Commonwealth, and Antigua and Barbuda have already said they will hold a referendum to become a republic. 

"Many Commonwealth countries are going to vote to separate from the Crown; the figure that it has in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and others is merely symbolic and all this scandal with Meghan Markle and Prince Henry has contributed to the detriment of the British monarchy which is not racist, but it is classist; that is perhaps what Meghan Markle has felt and of course these racist accusations she has made have not gone down well in the Commonwealth countries and they want to change their status quo", according to Egusquiza. 

As for Scotland, he comments on the challenge of avoiding the referendum: "The moment the UK left the EU there was a change in the tendency of the Scots who are seeing their interests, both economic and social, being harmed. The British government wants to avoid the referendum. If Scotland asks for independence, the United Kingdom would disintegrate because Northern Ireland and Wales would follow. For me, the person responsible for all this is David Cameron, who as Prime Minister called the EU referendum, Brexit and then the Scottish referendum". 

How do you see the future of monarchies in the 21st century? 

They are an anachronistic system of government and a system of government that will tend to disappear, only time will tell what place they will occupy, although I believe it will become less and less important. Monarchies have given rise to many scandals, so when the magic of the monarchy is extinguished, people begin to question who these people are.  

For Jaime Peñafiel, the monarchy that is most at risk is the Spanish monarchy, which is also caught in a loop of scandals that have affected the figure of King Juan Carlos. 

Peñafiel is a veteran and renowned journalist and writer specialising in monarchies and has been very acidic against several members of the Spanish Royal Court who have not escaped his books.  

As for King Carlos III, Peñafiel believes that he will be an austere monarch very much influenced by his wife Camila, who has been designated queen at the same level as Carlos III, "an exceptional detail" and which was stipulated by Isabel II before she died.

"It is a very important fact because in the case of Spain, Letizia is queen consort and, in contrast, in the United Kingdom, Camilla is queen at the same level as King Charles III. In the ceremony she has been crowned together with her husband, something that has never happened before in any monarchy", he points out.

Peñafiel inquires that Camila, in spite of her rather murky and complicated past, has been able to reconduct Carlos' capricious character: "Let's simply remember his despotic gesture when he stained his finger with the ink of the pen the day he was signing the role of monarch; she is a turning point". 

It is impossible not to ask him about the situation of the Royal Court in Spain, what will happen when King Juan Carlos dies outside Spain...

If King Juan Carlos dies in exile, his son will have to cry tears of blood, because his son has shown himself to be a bad son by expelling his father. We have the only case in history in which a king is expelled not only from his house, but from his country, this is going against article 19 of the Spanish Constitution which prohibits expelling any Spanish citizen from the territory and preventing him from entering or moving around Spanish territory as he wishes. In this, Felipe has shown that he does not respect the Constitution.  

However, Peñafiel does not rule out the possibility of pressure: "King Felipe VI feels that he is in the hands of the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, because he does not want the monarchy... What Sánchez wants is to be president of the Republic". 

Will the Spanish monarchy last the rest of the 21st century? 

In Spain, what there have been are "juancarlistas" because Juan Carlos de Borbón managed to establish democracy after Franco's death; for me he has been a great king for 40 years and in the end his private life has spoilt everything, but not for his son to expel him from his house and his country. He is a bad son...

Peñafiel, who is a regular on television and talk shows, recalls an anecdote: "There is an influence of Letizia. When Felipe VI announced that he was going to marry Letizia, who was a journalist, King Juan Carlos told him very clearly: "You're going to ruin the monarchy" and, well, yes, we'll see, time will tell". 

So, Spain will end the 21st century as a republic? 

I am of the opinion that I will not see Leonor as queen, firstly because I am 92 years old and, secondly, because it will be very, very difficult for Leonor to become queen because this country is a democracy and has little or no sympathy for the monarchy... I repeat, what there were were "juancarlistas".