The Art of Monarchy

When I was a newby ex-pat, I used to speak with affected scorn about our royal family. I would say that they are little more than a useful marketing tool for the English Tourist Board, an anachronism and a drain on the resources of decent tax payers. Truly, I now cringe that I ever spouted such ignorant claptrap. I've had this in the back of my mind for a while, but first there was that outrageous attack on the (fine British) institution of the boat race and then I started listening to an fascinating, erudite, intelligent podcast from BBC Radio 4 called The Art of Monarchy and I realized it was time to think again publically.

The commentator of the Art of Monarchy follows the British tradition of monarchy from 1066 (and all that!) and William the Conquereor up unto the present day. That's 1000 years of the same family (more or less) ruling the country, plus at times a commonwealth and/or an empire. That alone seems pretty incredible. This program was about the art purchased by, at times made by and at all times used for, their own agenda by the king or queen of that time. I learned SO much that I didn't know about my own heritage plus the music was fabulous.

I don't claim to know all there is about the rights and wrongs of our system of constitutional monarchy but I do understand now that there is so much more to monarchy than I had ever imagined and that right or wrong, the institutions that support and guide our queen and her (however many) predecessors are worthy of respect, if for no other reason than they have survived in a dog-eat-dog kind of world for a bloody long time!

I highly recommend this podcast which you can access by clicking on this link The Art of Monarchy

Let me know what you think!