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I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty which have now passed to me. In taking up these responsibilities, I shall strive to follow the inspiring example I have been set in upholding constitutional government and to seek the peace, harm
HM King Charles III
The Monarchy of Great Britain
Crown and Country
The British monarchy is one of the central institutions of the constitution of the United Kingdom.
The Sovereign is Head of State, but the Crown is more than the individual person of the Monarch. It is also a legal and constitutional institution through which the authority of the State is expressed. We therefore speak of His Majesty's Government, the Crown in Parliament, Crown appointments and the administration of justice in the name of the Crown.
This distinction helps explain how a hereditary monarchy can exist within a parliamentary democracy.
The Sovereign and Democratic Government
The King does not govern according to personal political preference.
Government is carried on by ministers, led by the Prime Minister, who must retain the confidence of the House of Commons and who are accountable to Parliament.
The Sovereign remains above party politics. Following a General Election or other change of administration, the Monarch appoints as Prime Minister the person able to command the confidence of the House of Commons.
Legislation passed by Parliament receives Royal Assent before becoming law. The Sovereign also formally appoints ministers and judges and performs numerous other constitutional acts, generally in accordance with established law and convention and on ministerial advice.
The distinction between reigning and governing is one of the principal characteristics of Britain's constitutional monarchy.
Continuity
Political administrations necessarily change. Prime Ministers, ministers and Members of Parliament hold office for limited periods.
The Crown provides a different form of continuity. The Sovereign's constitutional service is not dependent upon an electoral cycle and can therefore span many different governments, political circumstances and generations.
The weekly audience between the King and the Prime Minister is private. This confidentiality allows the Sovereign to be informed, to advise and to encourage without becoming a participant in party-political debate.
The Royal Family and Public Service
The Sovereign is supported in official duties by other working members of the Royal Family.
Their work includes State and ceremonial occasions, visits throughout the United Kingdom, the recognition of voluntary and public service, support for charities and organisations, overseas representation and participation in important moments of national life.
The constitutional role belongs principally to the Sovereign. Members of the wider Royal Family should therefore not be confused with holders of independent constitutional authority; their public work supports the institution and service of the Crown.
Ceremony and National Identity
Monarchy also gives constitutional institutions a human and ceremonial expression.
The Coronation, the State Opening of Parliament, Trooping the Colour, investitures, State Visits, Remembrance observances and other ceremonies connect present-day public life with centuries of history.
Ceremony is not government, but neither is it meaningless. Nations express belonging and shared memory through symbols, rituals and institutions. The Crown provides one of the principal means by which Britain does so.
Money Matters
The finances of the Monarchy are sometimes misunderstood.
The Sovereign Grant provides public funding for the Monarch's official duties and for the maintenance of the occupied Royal Palaces. Its calculation is governed by legislation and is linked by formula to the revenues of The Crown Estate.
The Crown Estate is independently managed and is not simply the King's private property. Its profits are paid to the Treasury, while the Sovereign Grant is separately determined under legislation and subject to published accounts and parliamentary scrutiny.
Private property and income belonging personally to members of the Royal Family should therefore be distinguished from public expenditure associated with the official functions of the Crown.
Inheritance and Responsibility
Hereditary monarchy necessarily connects one generation with another. That continuity is part of both its attraction and its burden.
A Sovereign inherits not only a title but an office shaped by the actions, successes, mistakes and constitutional developments of predecessors. Modern monarchy does not require us to pretend that every monarch in history governed wisely. On the contrary, the ability of the institution to survive, reform and learn from history is an important part of its story.
Our Constitutional Monarchy
The British Crown has changed profoundly over the centuries while retaining an extraordinary degree of continuity.
It combines history with adaptation, ceremony with constitutional function, and hereditary succession with parliamentary democracy.
The Crown Society believes that this politically impartial, enduring Headship of State remains a valuable part of the United Kingdom's constitutional settlement and national life.
In Conclusion
The idea of a constitutional monarchy is something that can build up a nation, keeping it in touch with its past and directing it towards its future. It contributes to the accountability of a democratically elected parliament and acts as a check and balance for the direction of a country’s government. It gives a sense of colour and anachronism to lift us out of lives which need to celebrate, a little pomp and circumstance to remind us that we belong to the nation and the nation belongs to us. In the UK, we are fortunate to have a Royal Family which do not demand much in terms of cost but seeks to contribute to the good of the nation’s economy. While there have been Royals who have not shown themselves to be worthy of their position, they remind us that they are as human as we are and that it is their office that we must respect, and it Is their office that calls them to account. In respecting the monarch, we are showing respect to the nation and to ourselves as being part of that nation.
In the UK, we are very fortunate to have retained our monarchy. While we continue to live in dialogue with the King, we continue to grow and see ourselves as part of something bigger. If everyone continues to listen to each other then it can do us nothing but good.
God save the King!