The Queen has shown us how important a living institution is for any nation
“The Queen”. Say the words anywhere in the world and almost everyone will know who you are talking about. She is both an international icon and the living embodiment of an institution which represents our nation. Our other institutions exist under the umbrella of the crown, whether it is Parliament, the Law, the armed services or a myriad of others — right down to those little battalions in the private sector which so often and profitably seek royal patronage.
What makes the monarchy endure? It continues through times more uncertain than ever before; times which, mainly driven by technological change, seem to be on the verge of testing institutions to destruction, both here and abroad.
Some argue that the Crown endures because people cling to it as at least one unchanging certainty in a world where all other anchors seem to be dragging. There may be an element of truth in that, but it is certainly not the whole answer.
The monarchy is, after all, very far from unchanging. Its powers, for example, have in practical terms declined substantially, even during the present reign. Just to take one instance; the direct election of party leaders has made it effectively impossible, under most circumstances, for the monarch to ask anyone else to form a government.
Equally, for better or for worse, some of the mystique that until recently enfolded the institution has been blown away. The press feels able to be wholly disrespectful in a way which used to be confined to revolutionary tracts and the deeper ochre parts of the yellow press.
The monarchy has changed over the centuries and, if it is to remain effective, will continue to do so. In this, it is rather like the pageantry which surrounds so much of its public persona; too much and it can look absurd to the modern eye in a way that it did not to our ancestors, but too little and it becomes the embodiment of the old Peter Simple pastiches of a demotic monarchy.
How far it adapts, and in what way, will be a matter of nice judgement, a matter, no doubt, already under intense discussion. However, whatever conclusions are reached, they must not imperil the monarchy’s principal function in today’s fragile constitution: to provide the framework within which the nation can live and evolve. Within that framework, we who live here should feel that we belong here and that we are able to debate our future in safety.
For this to be possible, it is a great advantage that the head of state should not also be the nation’s chief executive. Dictatorships aside, executive presidents must be elected. They are therefore by definition politicians and are partisan. The United States looks to many of its friends as though it is beginning to suffer severely from the consequences of having an executive president.
A non-executive president, even with some inevitable residual powers seems a more attractive option, but, for an ancient nation, it does not embody the Burkean ideal of the nation being, “a partnership between those who are living, those who are dead and those who are to be born”. In other words, we need to know where we come from if we are to understand the present and build a better future. A successful monarchy helps us to understand and accomplish these things without resorting to violent revolution.
No institution is perfect. After all, both mankind and its creations are made of crooked timber and a successful constitutional monarchy is as vulnerable as any other institution. For it to work, the monarch has to be, among other things, selfless, energetic, sympathetic and, most importantly, above partisanship. For one individual to combine all these qualities is rare indeed.
For the last 70 years, we have been blessed in this country with a monarch who has those qualities in full measure, together with wisdom both innate and gained through long experience of the world and its peoples.
Indeed, her understanding and inheritance have enabled her to build something that goes far beyond our own borders. By ensuring the survival of the Commonwealth, she has presented this country and our fellow members with opportunities for contact and collaboration across an increasingly divided world.
The Queen has shown us how important a living institution is for any nation. She has been able to adapt, just as her successors will have to. Within the framework of the monarchy, we can only hope that our other institutions under the monarchy’s umbrella will do the same. They certainly need to.
Meanwhile, we owe the Queen a great debt of gratitude for 70 years of impeccable service. This week is our opportunity to thank her and celebrate her reign. Jubilate!
Lord Salisbury, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, is chairman of Reaction.