posted 6th November 2025
The British royal family has been much in the news lately (November 2025), with the effective sacking of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor (aka the Andrew formerly known as Prince) following revelations about his association with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. However, debaters need to take the long view. So let’s step back from the failings or otherwise of individuals in the royal family to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the monarchy as an institution.
The British monarchy means that we have an unelected head of state, who is a different person from the head of government. What is the difference between these two roles?
What does the head of state do?
The head of state is the symbolic and ceremonial head of a nation. They are a way of representing all the people of a nation in one person. They embody the nation at solemn national ceremonies like Remembrance Sunday, or the opening of the Olympic Games; they demonstrate solidarity by visiting survivors of terrorist attacks and national disasters; their image is often displayed on the currency and in public places. However, they have no actual power. Although in theory they appoint the head of government and sign off laws, in practice they will only appoint the winner of a democratic election, and will always follow the advice of the democratically elected government.
What does the head of government do?
Power resides entirely with the head of government (in Britain, the prime minister, currently Keir Starmer). They hire and fire ministers to run the economy, the health service, education, defence etc.; they decide which laws should be put before parliament; they negotiate international treaties.
How is the head of state chosen?
In a constitutional monarchy like Britain, the head of state is effectively chosen at random, by accident of birth. King Charles is head of state because his mother was head of state before him. When he dies, his oldest child Prince William will become head of state. When he dies, it will be Prince William’s oldest child Prince George. And so on. You could say that being monarch is a bit like jury service; a social duty allocated by random selection. Except that jury service is normally only two weeks, not your whole life (though the expenses are better if you’re king).
In countries which have an elected head of state, they are chosen by the people in a democratic election.
How is the head of government chosen?
In a democracy, they are chosen by the people in an election. In a parliamentary democracy like Britain, the head of government - the prime minister - is the leader of the party with the most members of parliament. In a presidential democracy, the head of government is chosen by direct election.
Can the head of state and head of government be the same person?
Yes. To give two examples: France and the United States. Both were early adopters of democracy in the late eighteenth century (albeit only for rich white men), France executing their king, the United States sacking the British king. Their presidents (currently Emanuel Macron and Donald Trump) are both head of state and head of government.
In some countries, the head of state and the head of government are both elected, but are different people. For example in Ireland, the president (head of state) is directly elected every seven years, and is expected to remain politically neutral; the taoiseach (head of government) is elected separately via the parliamentary system, and is the leader of one of the political parties.
For an elected head of state
It is fundamentally wrong for someone to take on such an important role simply on the basis of who their parents were. It sets a bad example to the nation, and entrenches inequality and snobbery in the system. Only someone chosen by the people can truly represent the people.
An elected head of state can be removed if they fail in their role. When Boris Johnson brought the office of prime minister into disrepute by overseeing parties in Downing Street during the Covid lockdown, he was forced to resign. If we now had King Andrew instead of King Charles, we could not get rid of him.
An elected head of state can still bring all the benefits of neutrality and representing the whole people symbolically and ceremonially, if they are separate from the head of government, as the example of Ireland shows.
For an unelected head of state
The fact that nobody voted for King Charles means that he belongs to everyone; he is not the leader of one faction in the country, but represents all the people. It is an advantage that he did not choose to be king; an absence of ambition means he is more likely to act out of duty.
The lifelong nature of being monarch ensures continuity and stability. During Queen Elizabeth II’s seventy year reign, from 1952 to 2022, Britain saw fifteen prime ministers and enormous social changes. Throughout, she was just there, unchanging. A monarch who meets the prime minister of the day every week for an hour in complete confidence will acquire a long term perspective and a wisdom which can help guide the prime minister.
The monarchy provides Britain with enormous soft power. Look at how President Trump - who is not, shall we say, the most humble of men - was deeply impressed to be invited to Windsor Castle recently, with clear benefits for Britain’s relationship with the US; look at how the recent meeting of King Charles, head of the Church of England (which broke with the Catholic church 500 years ago), with Pope Leo (leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics) sent a message about reconciliation and overcoming difference in a divided world
It is also possible to have all the benefits of an unelected head of state without the pomp and circumstance. The monarchies of European countries such as Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Sweden are much more low key than the British royal family; their kings and queens lead more or less normal lives outside their ceremonial functions. The former queen of Denmark had a side hustle illustrating children’s books (if you’ve ever read Lord of the Rings in Danish, those are her drawings).
Motion which goes with this topic
This house would replace the king with an elected president.
