Why is monarchy important

Of course, royalty brings in funds as well, particularly through tourism. A significant disparity, but not one that is likely to make much difference if you object to the monarchy as a matter of principle.

Determining how much money a monarchy brings to its economy is more difficult, as even in republics, former royal residences continue to generate income as historical sites. Muddying the waters further, many royal families are not entirely forthcoming regarding their finances. Research undertaken elsewhere, however, has suggested that countries with a monarchy fare better economically than republics.

However, absolute monarchies also scored highly in terms of external risk, while monarchies generally recorded higher levels of debt. So, in other words, people who live in countries that have a monarchy tend to enjoy higher standards of living than those in republics, precisely because monarchies protect property rights to a greater extent. A pretty good deal overall, but one that may still not convince republicans that having an unelected head of state is justifiable.

Moving with the times Republics now vastly outnumber monarchies, and the only reason many of the latter have survived is by evolving and adapting.

The British royal family are not supposed to express political opinions, although they are allowed to support football teams Prince William cheers on Aston Villa. People identify with people. Politicians come and go, but over the generations a successful royal family creates a sense of human continuity at the heart of a society.

People get to know their royals — the ones they look up to and the ones they do not. From to , for example, Princess Diana , the maverick Princess of Wales, topped many of the royal popularity polls — not just in Britain, but all over the world.

Want to know even more about the real events from history that inspired the drama? Read more from the experts…. This paid for more than 3, royal engagements at home and abroad, with over , guests being welcomed at royal palaces for events like garden parties and investitures. That is a lot of money, but in alone more than 2.

Enter your email address now to receive news, features, podcasts and more. Thanks for signing up to receive our royal newsletter. Manage your newsletter preferences now. By entering your details, you are agreeing to HistoryExtra's terms and conditions. You can unsubscribe at any time. The second occurred in , when a revised Constitution, basic law, was adopted.

It helps to show we are an independent nation and yet it reflects our character by sharing our monarch with 15 other diverse countries in the Commonwealth such as Jamaica, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Belize. It promotes a stable political process, where the results of an election determine who will govern, not a violent act such as war or revolution.

It reminds Canadians of our special identity and way of life. This is important because of the huge influence of our friendly but much larger neighbour, the USA. So we have to work that little bit harder to appreciate our own institutions, in the same way as we have to work extra hard to obtain the best grades we can, to contribute to the team or the drama club or to find a good college, university or job. The monarch promotes Canadian concerns such as tolerance, playing by the rules, protecting the environment and giving service to the community.

This shows a commitment to the country that is not selfish, and not linked to any political party. It makes clear the important but different roles of the monarch the head of our nation who represents the things we all agree about and the prime minister the elected head of our government whose policies we can argue about, and whose government we can re-elect — or not — about every four years.

Here is a series of brief points as to why Canada is a monarchy rather than a republic such as the United States. They are mainly written for older students. An interesting feature of our form of government is that not all the rules are written down, but some are based on what is called conventions — a word which means something that everyone agrees is the normal and right thing to do. Examples of conventions in our ordinary lives? There are no laws that say you must say please and thank you, watch your language around your younger siblings, avoid chewing food with your mouth wide open or stand up when the National Anthem is played at an assembly or sports event.

Social trust is an important factor in sociology and economics, and generally correlates with lower crime and lower corruption, among other things. Other studies have suggested that monarchical states seem to promote cohesion.

A study by Sascha Becker and others shows higher trust and less corruption inside the borders of the old Habsburg empire than among the people who live just outside the empire's historical borders. They conclude that in the data they assess "this valley does not appear in monarchies.

In fact, if anything it has the opposite effect. According to political scientist Victor Menaldo, in the Middle East from to , monarchies offered much more stability than other forms of government: "Not only are monarchies far less likely than republics to suffer from political instability, but monarchical rulers are more likely to survive in office. Former Bank of England rate-setter Tim Besley wrote a working paper earlier in the year suggesting that "in a country with weak executive constraints, going from a non-hereditary leader to an hereditary leader, increases the annual average economic growth of the country by 1.

Harvard historian Eric Nelson recently argued in his book "The Royalist Revolution" that many of the American founding fathers of the late 18th century were rebelling against parliament, not the crown, describing the revolutionary war as "an insurrection in favor of royal power.