You May have Underestimated the Royal Family's Power | Should Britain Abolish the Monarchy?

Should Britain abolish the monarchy and become a republic? For some, Britain's Royal Family is a huge part British identity and culture. For others, the monarchy is outdated; an archaic institution that damages our democracy. Since Barbados voted to become a republic, the debate between republicans and monarchists is back in the spotlight.

Note: THIS VIDEO IS A REPUBLICAN PERSPECTIVE: I will be exploring the monarchist view in a separate video.

Graham smith is the CEO of republic, the largest organisation in the UK pushing to abolish the British monarchy and replace the queen with an elected head of state; a president, turning the United Kingdom into a republic. He spoke to me about some of the misconceptions about the monarchy, and why he thinks it's time for the UK to let go of the Royals.

Queen Elizabeth II is Britain's longest reigning monarch, and is the Queen of the United Kingdom along with 14 Commonwealth Realms (former territories of the British Empire). She will likely be succeeded Prince Charles, the Duke of Cornwall and heir to the British Crown, and eventually Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge. The Royal family tree is sprawling, but how much power does the royal family actually have? More than you might think.

Queen's and Prince's consent mean that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles can amend or veto laws that affect their interests. They also possess a lot of "soft power" to influence and serve their own agendas behind closed doors.

Many republicans in the UK argue that the monarchy represents inequality in law, with one family inheriting superiority over everyone else. Graham's platform, Republic.org, is pushing for an elected head of state to replace the unelected monarch, an elected body to replace the unelected members of the House of Lords, and for a written constitution. Currently, the UK has no written constitution, which means laws cannot be struck down for being "unconstitutional".

He also stresses that, when it comes to monarchy vs democracy, the governments of democratic republics are more accountable to their people. As it stands now, the power that the queen would once have wielded is handed on a plate to the British Prime Minister, currently Boris Johnson, meaning that power in the British government is very centralised. Many people in Britain are still very attached to the royals - and I’ll explore the monarchist perspective in another video - so whether the majority of the British public will be ready to let go of them in the near future is unclear. But this much is certain: calls to end the monarchy are growing, and will likely intensify with the coronation of Prince Charles as King of the United Kingdom and, in the long run, it looks like the British Monarchy’s days are numbered.

00:00-00:54 - The British Nobility
00:55-02:19 - Bizarre royal rules for the Monarchy
02:20-03:28 - The man trying to abolish the Monarchy
02:29-04:10 - Misconceptions about the British Monarchy
04:11-05:35 - How much power does Queen Elizabeth really have?
05:36-07:01 - How much money do the Royals make?
07:02-08:05 - What do Brits think of the Monarchy?
07:03-09:55 - How do you get rid of the Monarchy and become a Republic?
09:56-11:21 - Do you need to support the Monarch to be a Patriotic Brit?
11:22-14:04 - Are the British Monarchy's days numbered?

Visit www.republic.org.uk for more, or check out the ‪@RepublicCampaign‬ YouTube channel!
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