The British Monarchy System History Essay

London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is considered to be one of the largest metropolitan area and largest urban zone in the United Kingdom. As known London is famous for its economic growth i.e it is one of the largest finance centre along with New York. It is one of the global leading economies with its growth in almost every sector right from art, entertainment, education and fashion to tourism and transportation.

However tourism has been one of the trademarks for London. It earns its maximum revenue through tourism which adds on to increasing the GDP of the country. Coming to achievements, London has the world’s largest airport system and it has been successfully hosted Olympics thrice in comparison to other leading economies.

Not only the geographic and economic factors, what makes London unique the social and cultural factors. It a hub of various cultures and people with about more than 300 languages spoken within its boundary.

It has a monarchy system of government which is leaded by the King or Queen and his traces way back from centuries.

British Monarchy System (History and Background)

The British Monarchy System is also known as the Constitutional Monarchy System. The term “Monarch” basically refers to the king or queen. Queen Elizabeth II became monarch on 6 February 1952. The role of the monarch is continued as the members of the family continue to be the monarch and undertake various social, economic, representative responsibilities.

The genesis of constitutional monarchy in Britain can be traced way long back in centuries. Before the 17th century, the British Monarchy could make decisions as they had the right to execute i.e make or pass legislation. This is when they were also named as executive monarchs. The monarchy system now is no more executive and has become more lawful where the monarch has the right to confer honours and appoint ministers. .

The major role that a monarch plays is in the British Armed Forces where the monarch is the monarch is the commander. There is no doubt about the fact that the authority and rights to rule and govern the country is still through the monarch but the powers can be used within the laws which have been passed in the Parliament which should maintain the unity of the country and set some standards.

It is from the Scottish Kings and others that the monarchy system traces its genesis from. Way back in the 10th Century, the kingdom of England and Scotland had urbanized from the poor kingdoms of early medieval Britain.

In the year 1603, James I who actually was a Scottish King James VI, both England and Scotland were ruled by a single monarch. The monarch here was very powerful and could take all the decisions. However, between 1649 to 1660, the practice of monarchy was broken by the  Commonwealth of England which was followed by the Second World War.

One of the major decision that was taken was that the Roman Catholics or the ones who marry the Roman Catholics would not be included in the series of owing the throne. However, it was in 1707 when England and Scotland came together to join the United Kingdom which was then referred to a Kingdom of Great Britain. With Ireland joining, it was now named as the United Kingdom of Great Britain in the year 1801.

However, post the Second World War, a large majority of British boundaries became independent, which indicated that the empire was coming to an end. Thus, it was then that George VI and his descendant, Elizabeth II, took the title Head of the Commonwealth as a icon of the free union of its self-governing member states.

The Commonwealth does not include the monarchies alone. It also considers the republic. In 2012, the 15 Commonwealth countries share the same person as their monarch as the United Kingdom. The British Monarchy is frequently still engaged in orientation to the person and institution shared amongst all fifteen of the other Commonwealth countries, and to the discrete monarchies within each of these self-governing countries, often at variance with the different, specific, and official countrywide titles for each jurisdiction.

The Role Played by the Monarch in the Development and Growth

The most important role that a monarch plays is that it serves as the Head of the Nation.

The Queen undertakes legal and emblematic duties which have developed over one thousand years of history as the Head of the State.

There are a series of formal duties that The Queen performs, right from playing an important role in the States functioning and growth to day to day activities like Open the Parliament, Approve the orders in the council, Sign the several acts of the Parliament and conduct meetings with the Prime Minster.

However, The Queen acts as a representative of the United Kingdom to the rest of the world.

The Queen represents the country as the symbol of unity.

The Queen meets various personnel’s right from the foreign ambassadors to commissioners who come to England also makes visits to other countries where The Queen represents to support social and economic relations.

The Queen fulfills various social and cultural functions as the Head of the Nation.

The various social roles that have leaded to the growth and prosperity of the country range right from providing stability and continuity to the nation by acting as a national identity, to recognizing and awarding achievements.

With the developed relationships with the devolved assemblies in Scotland and Wales, Queen’s unifying role as a sovereign can be noticed.

The Queen has always helped the people of the country and encouraged public and voluntary services.

Impact of British Monarchy System

Permanence and stability:

The British Monarchy System has been successful in maintain stability in the economy. Although there has been a shift in the political environment from left to right but The Queen has always been there and supported the people and has a safe hand on the wheel of state.

Neutrality:

As we know London is a hub of people with diverse cultural and educational background it is very difficult to sustain peace among people of the group. The Queen is neutral on giving any views on politics and the changing government policy. This makes her an perfect figurehead to present to the world.

The Queen with her neutral nature promotes good relations with other countries whose leaders might be the complete opposite of the current UK government.

Revenue Generation through Tourism:

One of the major impacts of the British Monarchy today is that it brings in a lot of income from tourism. Thousands of tourists every year visit the royal palaces and enjoy the spectacle of the changing of the protector in London.

Cost benefit:

Though this statement is very controversial as to whether the monarchy system is a cost advantage or disadvantage to the nation, there are many view supporting it. This is because they pay a heavy amount of tax and the Royals have to pay tax on their private income.

Controversies/Critics relating to British Monarchy System 2012

Views Supporting the Monarchy System

Views Against the Monarchy System

Monarchy represents permanence, firmness and moral values.

The Queen is just a figurehead and has very less significance today in the modern society.

There is a sense of prehistoric link with the crown and heritage.

It is a matter of history and should be confined to the past.

The Queen is the symbol of national unity with neutral views and impartiality.

It is a leftover which should have been abolished centuries ago.

The Monarch is free from political biasness and influences.

They believe in self- importance and have more than what they actually need.

The Queen is such a personality symbol that meeting her would be an honor unlike meeting a president of the country.

The royal family is over honored and does not give opportunities to others to be a part of the head of the nation.

It is far better than democracy as, in the monarchy system people are given more care and support.

It contrasts the meaning of democracy. Democracy is what the modern society wants.

However, there can be no conclusions drawn as to whether a Monarchy System is good today also or not. People have their own views and opinions regarding the British Monarchy System.

Objectives of the Study:

The main objective of the study was to analyze the significant importance of the British Monarchy System. The second major objective was to understand the impact of British Monarchy in the development and growth of the country.

Primary objectives of the study:

Primary objectives as the name suggests are the main objectives of the study. This is the focus of the study in which the researcher is involved. As a part of the study primary objectives need to be achieved.

To acknowledge the importance of monarchy system in the development of the country.

To understand the role (both tangible and intangible) of monarchy system.

To identify the impact of the British Monarchy System.

To understand whether or not it has significance today.

To be able to draw conclusion to controversies like should the monarchy sustain or not.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

John M T Balmer, (April, 2011). Corporate heritage brands and the precepts of corporate heritage brand management: Insights from the British Monarchy on the eve of the royal wedding of Prince William. Retrieved from <http://www.palgrave-journals.com/bm/journal/v18/n8/fig_tab/bm201121b4.html>

The British crown is the most powerful of the monarchies that the world have seen till date, the history of this monarchy is one the most remarkable and very impressive, the British monarchs have the most remarkable place of origin that they have been descended from,. According to the constitution the British monarchy has been considered one of the archetypal monarchies.

Inside the United Kingdom, public gave their full support to the monarchy and has been the same way from past so long. In Britain major portion of the total population was in favor of country remaining as monarchy, and they also felt satisfied with Queen exercising her role as monarchical.

People still feel that Crown to be of a major significance and act as a sign and sense to the British identity, In addition the Honorary Queen Elizabeth the Head of Commonwealth and has an association of huge figure of 54 nations which in total have population of 1000000000 people, In crux we can say that British Crown was in a essence of big and most powerful organization.

David Haigh, ( April 27,2011). Understanding the value of the British Monarchy as a brand. Brand Finance Journal.

Well it has been identified that the British monarchy created value in 3 different ways, which included: Firstly benefits to the UK tourism industry which included the hotels, air transport, restaurants, shops etc, Second came the big UK business house of the Royal Warrant, which led to the schemes which in turn added higher demands and higher prices to massive 850 companies which included brands like Fortnum and Masons and Berry Brothers were two companies out of 850 who clearly had benefits from the luxury connotations of a Royal Warrant. And Thirdly the reputational benefit to the businesses like to the British Airways and Harrods as they produced business and also had benefits of it.

In 2012 the intangible asset of the Monarchy valued about £ 44 billion. The monarchy plays a vital role of endorser for individual and company brands and also not to forget about the nation brand which is helping Britain to get out of the recession period

Constitutional Monarchy Association (December, 2011). Royal Finance. Retrieved from <http://www.sovereignty.org.uk/features/articles/royfin.html>

The major sources of funding the queen are – the civil list, Grant-in-aid, the Privy Purse and private income. Out of the four mentioned the civil list and Grant-in-aid they help in covering the official expenses and are not taxed, the Privy Purse is taxable income and deductions are to be made for official expenses occurred and lastly the Queen pays tax on her personal income and other gains which r capital in nature.

The civil list is been since the time of King George III in 1760, to fund the cost of government by the parliament. The Queen mother and Prince Philip are the only members of the Royal family to get annuities from Civil List of £ 643,000 and £ 359,000 respectively, to the other Royal Family members the Queen herself pays out from the Privy Purse which is been provided to her.

It is estimated that annual cost of monarchy is approx £ 37 million. The republics show reluctance in publishing the costs incurred by the head of the state, but is true that the cost of British monarchy compares extremely favorably.

Liz Wyse, Delbert’s. (December, 2011). How we valued the Monarchy as a Brand. Brand Finance Journal, Special Jubilee Issue.

The Royal Family, variety of functions like the Royal Marriage Act 1772, while for others The Queen has a bit narrower definitions. In general the present day reference of the phrase varies, but always have the ancestral counted in the first cousins bearing royal titles like The Dukes of Kent and Gloucester.

The intellectual property, apart from the Crown copyright, the other example being the Royal coat of arms in various forms and many others still function as principal source of identity for the people, starting for the passport till the ministerial red boxes you’ll find the corporate visual identity, even the portcullis badge of parliament is a Royal Badge and same goes for the Union Jack as well.

Clive Cheesman, Richmond Herald, College of Arms. (April 27, 2011). How we Valued Monarchy as a Brand. Retrieved from <http://brandfinance.com/knowledge_centre/stories/how-we-valued-the-monarchy-as-a-brand-basic-concepts>

The Royal family being the icon of the United Kingdom as a result it has emerged more of as a brand in itself, they globally stand n represent as the symbol of UK on this Earth. The Queen began in 1952, the famous monarchy system did went through ups and downs period of instability then the death of Princess of Wales Diana, who was the brand ambassador for the Windsors but her decision of divorce turned everyone against her. After Diana death public turned against Queen and the Royal family, in past few years time people has started to shift their hatred to respect for the royal family, firstly the royal wedding and then the golden jubilee celebrations, which make people that that it’ll help strengthen the bond n Role of Monarch.

The young generation of the Royal family taking it seriously as well, Prince Harry’s successful tour to Jamica made the Royal’s realize that he can be a brand ambassador for the Monarchy, Prince William being chosen over his dad and grandmother to be ranked as best ambassador for Britain, and people are convinced that he will improve his family’s image

The new bride into the Royal family Kate Middleton has given the British economy the straight boost of £1 billion in terms of retail and tourism

Public Opinion, (April, 2011). How to value about the Monarchy as a Brand : UK trade contribution. Brand Finance Journal.

The trend in UK’s trade performance after Prince Andrew, Duke of York was chosen as United Kingdom Special representative for UK Trade and Investment 2011 till recently was declining year by year, in spite of the YK’s global reach and help from business expertise Prince efforts as a leader could not improve the trade deficit. Monarchy as a brand attracted revenues from tourism, it also gives fresh opportunities for the development of British Business

Conclusion

According to the articles, journals and research papers the following views can be drawn:-

Monarchy system has helped to strengthen national unity and stability.

In the view of the UN, Britain should abolish its monarchy system.

People consider monarchy to be backward and prejudice that has no real power.

The monarchy’s popularity has been declining in recent decades.

Since then British society has undergone a number of successive transformations and the Royal Family’s popularity has largely eroded away.

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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Findings:

The monarchy system has its traces way back from centuries.

There has been a significant contribution in the development and growth of the country.

It has been gaining a lot of revenue for the country.

The monarchy system has a important role to play in improving the social equality.

It has not only led to the economic enhancement but also social growth and development.

There has been controversies regarding whether the monarchy system should continue or not but most views support the monarchy system even today.

Conclusion:

From the above analysis and research we can conclude various things about British Monarchy System. All of them are mentioned below:

The British Monarchy has been seen as a symbol of national unity.

Plays a significant role in supporting and encouraging public.

Although the monarchy system has led to significant contributions in the country since centuries, there exists various negative views about the same.

The Queen meets various personnel’s right from the foreign ambassadors to commissioners who come to England also makes visits to other countries where The Queen represents to support social and economic relations.

Controversies have been prevailing as to whether the monarchy system should sustain today or not.

Monarchy System is considered to be backward and should be consigned to the history.

However, The Queen acts as a representative of the United Kingdom to the rest of the world.

The Queen fulfills various social and cultural functions as the Head of the Nation.

The various social roles that have leaded to the growth and prosperity of the country range right from providing stability and continuity to the nation by acting as a national identity, to recognizing and awarding achievements.

With the developed relationships with the devolved assemblies in Scotland and Wales, Queen’s unifying role as a sovereign can be noticed.

Recommendations:

A few recommendations that I would like to give through the above study are:

The Monarchy System is not only a part of history of the country but also the present and would be the future too. It should not be abolished.

It has led to the economic, social and cultural growth of the nation through centuries and thus, should be respected and honored.

The British Monarchy System is a symbol of prosperity and growth, therefore should prevail for centuries more to come.