Comments by "Nigel Johnson" (@nigeljohnson9820) on "Anti-monarchists protest against King Charles III as he leaves Parliament" video.

  1. The royal family do not have any real political power. There is no evidence that they have every exercised any power to resist the policies of the elected government. They might exercise soft power behind close doors, but such action has not been converted into direct action to force a change in government policy or a change in government. Such power is reserved for the defence of democracy, and it is questionable how effective it would be to a government determined to usurp the rule of law, and govern without legitimacy. While the monarchy is an historical anachronism, a relic of a bygone age, it still serves a useful function of protecting the UK from the vicissitude of an elected term presidents, and the potential corruption of a permanent president. The purpose of the monarchy is to provide the continuity of having a head of state who is above politics and has no reason to become embroiled in political or financial corruption. It is said, for good reason, that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, so there is good reason to have a head of state with no day to day political power. They are the referee who enforces the rules of democracy, and can represent the state no matter what the political flavour of the current government might be. Governments come and go, but the monarchy preserves long term continuity, representing the permanence of the state, untainted by any nefarious activities of the most recent government. In that respect they represent the innocent of the UK people. It is not an ideal system, but it is significantly better than the alternatives. It is however dependent on having a monarch with integrity who is beyond reproach. The UK has been extremely luckily in that respect over the past 70 plus years, we must pray that our luck continues. Those who call for the abolition of the monarchy have really not thought through what the alternative would be, and the consequence that might arise as a result.
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