The Monarchy

The lecture on the monarchy was quite interesting as it illustrated its transformation over time. In it’s original form, the role of the monarch was to provide inspirational leadership, be the focal point of the National unity, protect subjects and borders from outside threat, declare war and lead battle, be the same of all justice and protection for the weak, increase the prosperity and standing of the nation and ensure continuity by producing an heir as the nation is most vulnerable with no direct line of succession. This ensures a smooth turnover and it is essential to not only produce and heir but also a “spare” as it is a trend that something happens to the first child and the thrown is passed on the the next child. The British monarchy follows the practice of primogeniture which holds that the first male son inherits the crown, basically making any females children the absolute last resort.
From the reign of King John (1199 – 1216) the monarchy has been in conflict with the people. King John was actually the first king to experience the people’s power as he was cornered by his Barons and was forced to sign the Magna Carta which was the first document to extract rights from the King. Although the provisions made by the Magna Carta were invalidated by the Pope it was reissued by King Henry III when he claimed the thrown. This act represents the beginning of Parliament as well as the beginning of decline of the crown’s power.
What I found most interesting is the hypocrisy that existed in relation to monogamy and the thrown. While Kings affairs were rampant, an accusation of adultery on the part of the queen would result in her being charged with treason and then executed. While I understand that if she is impregnated by another man then it would throw off the entire royal line but it was used as an excuse to get rid of queens as seen with King Henry VIII. This indicated that not even the queen can escape the sexist views of society and was punished even more harshly.
As a future educator, I think it is very important to teach students of the origins of our political systems as Britain was the model for our original political structure. It is important to be aware of the role of the monarchy that once rule over a vast portion of the world and in some aspect has affected our lives and those of our ancestors.