Does Monarchy Matter?

Abstract

The constitutional history of America, France and Britain, as well as monolithic organizations past and present, shows that human beings cleave to single rule - that we tend to develop quasi-royal dynasties, from Livia and Augustus to Bill and Hilary Clinton. Monarchy is not quaint; it is universal. Nevertheless, it is most surprising that there is still a monarchy in Britain. This essay asks, ‘Does the monarchy matter... to the British?’ and answers ‘Yes: it did by its presence and does still by its absence’. Its abolition would involve reconstructing both the Constitution and a British sense of identity.