Tag: Monarchy
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Francesca Jackson: The New ‘Social Leadership Monarchy’ Is Thriving – But Is It Compatible With the Constitution?
Back in November, I wrote a blog post on the progression of the Public Service Monarchy (‘PSM’). It is a topic I wish to return to. I now believe that what we are seeing is not a progression of the PSM, but a new, identifiable form of monarchy – the Social Leadership Monarchy (‘SLM’), which…
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Francesca Jackson: Should the Monarch Pay Inheritance Tax?
The recent protests by farmers over changes to the rules on inheritance tax have raised questions over who, if anyone, should be exempt from paying it – including exemptions which benefit King Charles, as an episode of Newsnight has recently highlighted. In the UK inheritance tax is currently paid at a rate of 40% on…
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Francesca Jackson: What Does the Debate Over Slavery Reparations Tell Us About the Cardinal Convention, Soft Power and the Public Service Monarchy?
There is a good reason why the constitutional convention requiring the monarch to exercise his prerogative powers on the advice of his government is known as the ‘Cardinal Convention’: it is ‘the most fundamental’ constitutional convention relating to the monarchy – something King Charles is finding out when it comes to slavery reparations. At a…
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Alex Benn: Criminalising Constitutional Debate? Anti-monarchy Protests, Treason and Public Order
Until 2022, calling for the abolition of the monarchy may still have been a form of treason in the United Kingdom, but it did not seem to be more generally criminalised. According to the statute books, the Treason Acts remained in force, but they were specialised tools and provided for a limited range of crimes.…
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David Torrance: “Nothing in the Nature of a Second Coronation”
On 23 April 2023 the Sunday Telegraph carried a striking headline: “Scotland to host its own Coronation for the King with Stone of Destiny at its heart.” During a thanksgiving service at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, the report continued, King Charles III was to be presented with the Honours of Scotland (“the oldest regalia…
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David Torrance: A Tale of Two Accessions: 1952 and 2022
No two Accessions are the same. That of King Edward VII in 1901 was characterised by widespread confusion regarding custom and practice, for Queen Victoria’s succession to the Throne had long ago faded from the public consciousness. This time, the ‘official mind’ was better prepared and the major difference between the Accession of King Charles…
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David Kershaw: Revolutionary Amnesia and the Delegated Nature of Prerogative Power
“Left” in the Hands of the Crown The extent to which an exercise of prerogative power can be subject to judicial review, as well as the nature of such review, are umbilically connected to the nature and source of prerogative power. But what is the nature of the prerogative powers exercised by the Crown today—how…
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Robert Hazell and Bob Morris: How has Monarchy survived in the era of Modern Democracy? Part Two
If these European monarchs have no real power, what is the modern monarchy for? Part 1 of this Blog described how no European monarch now has any real political power: they have no choice but to follow the advice of their governments. So the question arises, if they have no real political power, what…
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Robert Hazell and Bob Morris: How has Monarchy survived in the era of Modern Democracy? Part One
Introduction This month sees the publication of our book The Role of Monarchy in Modern Democracy: European Monarchies Compared, published by Hart. This two part Blog reflects on some of its main conclusions. Our comparative study looked at seven other constitutional monarchies in Europe, in addition to the UK. In 1900 every country in Europe…
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Craig Prescott: Harry and Meghan, Regency, Counsellors of State and a “Slimmed Down” Royal Family
Introduction On 19th January, after discussions within the Royal Family, it was announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will step back from royal duties, no longer receive public funds, or ‘formally represent the Queen’. Neither will they use their HRH titles, and more generally they will not be classed as ‘working members of…