The Royal Family Needs To Reinvent Ceaselessly For The Monarchy To Survive

Whenever the subject of monarchy is brought up, it is bound to cause a rather passionate discussion among the participants. There will always be those who support the royal family and their continued existence, but there will always be members of the other camp who firmly believe that monarchies have no part in the modern-day age.

But since the British monarchy continues to exist to this day, it could only mean one thing — the British people still continue to support its existence. In fact, a 2018 YouGov poll supports this conclusion as it was revealed that seven in ten Britons voted in favor of the monarchy’s continuation.

But perhaps the majority of the credit of the British monarchy’s resilience is due to the adaptability of the members of the royal family. Back when they faced plummeting popularity brought by Princess Diana’s untimely death in 1997, the royal family needed to “start again” and reinvent the institution to justify its existence, noted Professor David Cannadine during an episode of BBC Radio 4’s “In Our Time,” which was aired in 1999.

Fortunately, “reinventing the institution” is something that the British royal family is rather experienced at. They did it before at the start of the 19th century, when they found themselves no longer functioning as the warrior kings of the past — no longer leading into battles, no longer governing their land or making laws.

But the royal family members at that time proved quite adept in adapting to changing times. “The history, it seems to me, of the British monarchy over the last 150 years, if one thinks of pageantry, the empire or of course the Royal Family – these are finding new things for them to do, or new justifications for their continued existence,“ the professor observed.

Of course, the royal family once more encountered a crisis triggered by Princess Diana’s death. “I think the problem that the British monarchy faces now is that those new justifications that were invented are largely falling away,” Cannadine commented in 1999. “They’ve got to start again.”

And based on the overwhelmingly positive result of the recent YouGov poll, Princess Diana’s children, Prince William and Prince Harry, did a good job of steering public’s opinion of the royal family into something more appropriate to modern taste.

One way they did it is by placing less emphasis on pageantry. Instead, the royal brothers, together with their spouses, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, are now more focused on charity outreach and other worthwhile causes.

Meanwhile, Prince Charles has his own ideas. He presented a more streamlined royal family when they made a Buckingham Palace balcony appearance during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. “It is no secret that Charles wants a more streamlined Royal Family when he comes to reign,” noted royal author Katie Nicholl.

But the royal family’s reinvention is not likely stopping there. Perhaps Professor Cannadine’s conclusion back in 1999 is just as apt before as it is today. “So what you have to do, if you’ve got a monarchy which is going to survive, is you have to invent new things for them to do.”