Meghan and Camilla both had events the same week, and one of the royals was supposed to take a step back, but that didn’t happen, as was agreed. The British monarchy has taken its knocks over the years but remains as strong as ever – and a historian has explained why. Rafe Heydel-Mankoo compared the longevity of the Firm to abolished monarcies in France, Germany and Russia.
He explained: “The secret to the British monarchy, and the reason that the British monarchy has survived, where as the French, the German, and Russian have collapsed, is because the British monarchy always evolved and adapted. “The revolution happened because European monarchies weren’t willing to make concessions, and weren’t willing to acquiesce to the public’s demands. “The monarchy of today isn’t the monarchy of the 1990s and definitely not the 1950s. It looks the same, but it suddenly changed, to reflect the modern world, and that’s why it continues to be as popular as it’s ever been and because it remains relevant.”
France, Germany and Russia saw the end of their monarchies following revolutions. The uprisings began out of civil unrest, caused by poor treatment of the population and – in the case of Germany and Russia – huge military losses during World War I. A Republic was declared in France in 1792, Germany in 1918 and Russia in 1917. Both France and Russia’s rulers, King Louis XVI and Czar Nicholas, were executed. Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm was forced to abdicate but was left unharmed. He was exiled to the Netherlands, where he died from natural causes.
On the other hand, the British monarchy remains intact and is thriving, which Heydel-Mankoo discusses. He talks about the ability to change and how it works on a bigger level: “I think it’s been that understanding and ability to adapt, the gentle tweaking of ceremonies and things, the trappings of royalty remain unchanged, that have been one of the success stories.” And, the royals have the past to call on, to use as a sort of “playbook” with Heydel-Mankoo saying: “If you abide by the rules of the monarchy you will have a very easy life as a member of the Royal Family.
“That’s one of the beauties of the monarchy, is that, essentially, it’s a family, to which we can all relate, we all have a family, we all get on better with some relations, than other relations.” Heydel-Mankoo talks about how individual Royal Family members bring the monarchy to life: “There’s a very human quality to constitutional monarchy, which you don’t necessarily get in republics, because republics just have the constitution under glass and The Library of Congress, for example.”
In the US, there’s a president, but he’s not out and about like the royals when carrying out their engagements. He adds: “As here, we have the living embodiment of the crown in a physical person, it’s not just the constitution, but all the continued history of Britain for 1,000 years, the crown, the king, or the queen, is the embodiment of both constitution and history, in one tangible form.” And, we have royal watchers, like Heydel-Mankoo, to keep the public in the know. And, the media, who also follow the royal goings-on.
The historian said: “And there’s no other form of government that actually provides this very visual lesson to the nation when we watch something, and they can feel a personal connection to the story of Britain and to the monarchy, and that’s one of the emotional ties that connects, because family is about emotion.”
