London: British Republicans are hoping that Elizabeth II will be the last QueenBut experts say the monarchy is poised to survive as long as it keeps up with the times.
“We are not expecting the monarchy to end until the Queen is on the throne,” said Graham Smith, the head of the republic movement, who wants Britain to have an elected, non-partisan president as head of state.
But he told AFP: “This is the last monarch who will get anything like the Queen’s popular support.”
once his eldest son prince charles is on the throne, “so yes, we can certainly achieve that goal and get rid of the monarchy,” he said.
Concerts, parades and picnics take place over four days the following week, marking 70 years on the Queen’s throne, with the country becoming a sea of red, white and blue.
The unprecedented Platinum Jubilee has been seen since 1952 as an opportunity to reflect on the Queen’s central place in British life.
But with the queen now 96, the anniversary also heralds the inevitable end of the second Elizabethan era.
That, the Republic Movement said on its website, is a chance to “make Elizabeth last”.
Smith said that Charles was not necessarily held in the same affection as the Queen and slammed the monarchy as an “undemocratic, anti-democratic and elitist” institution, costing millions of taxpayers.
Opinion polls indicate that the monarchy is less popular with younger people who are less attached to tradition and more vulnerable to anti-colonial struggles.
Smith predicts that this trend will continue.
According to the British Future think-tank, 58 percent of Britons support a monarchy, while 25 percent would prefer a republic after Elizabethan.
But the difference between the two is between 40 percent of Royalist and 37 percent of Republican youth.
“When the Queen dies, it will be a huge turning point,” said Robert Hazel, professor of government and constitution at University College London.
He told AFP that the queen was in her twenties when she ascended the throne and was “a very attractive young lady”.
But Charles, 73, by contrast will be “an unattractive old man” when he becomes king, Hazel said. “You may have a difficult accession.”
“Some public campaign may be carried out by some newspapers for the Prince William to become king,” he said of Charles’ eldest son, aged 39.
William is second in line to the throne and his son, Prince George, is third in succession. So even if the British monarchy remains in place, there is unlikely to be another reigning queen for quite some time.
Public relations expert Mark Borkowski said that in order to maintain public support, the monarchy would have to adapt to a world that is very different from the previous century.
“I’m not sure anyone knows what the size of the monarchy will be, but it certainly won’t be the same size as it was when the Queen was alive,” he said.
“But he has to show a sense of change,” as he did in part after Princess Diana’s death in 1997.
The right-wing newspaper Daily Mail reports that William respects his father’s and grandmother’s viewpoint “but believes the monarchy must be ‘agile’ to survive and thrive”.
William and his wife cat The march had a turbulent tour of the Caribbean, marred by anti-monarchical protests and accusations of colonial overtones.
“He is looking forward to seeing how things will be in 40 years’ time. He wants the monarchy to remain a unifying force, to bridge the gap,” the Mail wrote.
William is also open to a lesser role for the monarchy in the Commonwealth, which has the Queen as head of state among its 14 members other than the UK.
Commonwealth member Barbados stepped down from the Queen as head of state last November, but Hazel suspects going back to Britain would have a domino effect.
In any case, the UK would need a referendum to become a republic, but no one is calling it and it is not seen as a political vote-winner.
Furthermore, he said, “Britain is a republic in all but name”.
“Our monarchy is a parliamentary monarchy and a constitutional monarchy, where the monarch has no effective political power.”
Whereas in countries such as France the “president is the monarch,” Britain’s imperial head of state has long held the job.
“So it’s easier for people to identify with the head of state and actually identify and feel loyalty to the head of state and other members of the royal family,” Hazel said.
“We are not expecting the monarchy to end until the Queen is on the throne,” said Graham Smith, the head of the republic movement, who wants Britain to have an elected, non-partisan president as head of state.
But he told AFP: “This is the last monarch who will get anything like the Queen’s popular support.”
once his eldest son prince charles is on the throne, “so yes, we can certainly achieve that goal and get rid of the monarchy,” he said.
Concerts, parades and picnics take place over four days the following week, marking 70 years on the Queen’s throne, with the country becoming a sea of red, white and blue.
The unprecedented Platinum Jubilee has been seen since 1952 as an opportunity to reflect on the Queen’s central place in British life.
But with the queen now 96, the anniversary also heralds the inevitable end of the second Elizabethan era.
That, the Republic Movement said on its website, is a chance to “make Elizabeth last”.
Smith said that Charles was not necessarily held in the same affection as the Queen and slammed the monarchy as an “undemocratic, anti-democratic and elitist” institution, costing millions of taxpayers.
Opinion polls indicate that the monarchy is less popular with younger people who are less attached to tradition and more vulnerable to anti-colonial struggles.
Smith predicts that this trend will continue.
According to the British Future think-tank, 58 percent of Britons support a monarchy, while 25 percent would prefer a republic after Elizabethan.
But the difference between the two is between 40 percent of Royalist and 37 percent of Republican youth.
“When the Queen dies, it will be a huge turning point,” said Robert Hazel, professor of government and constitution at University College London.
He told AFP that the queen was in her twenties when she ascended the throne and was “a very attractive young lady”.
But Charles, 73, by contrast will be “an unattractive old man” when he becomes king, Hazel said. “You may have a difficult accession.”
“Some public campaign may be carried out by some newspapers for the Prince William to become king,” he said of Charles’ eldest son, aged 39.
William is second in line to the throne and his son, Prince George, is third in succession. So even if the British monarchy remains in place, there is unlikely to be another reigning queen for quite some time.
Public relations expert Mark Borkowski said that in order to maintain public support, the monarchy would have to adapt to a world that is very different from the previous century.
“I’m not sure anyone knows what the size of the monarchy will be, but it certainly won’t be the same size as it was when the Queen was alive,” he said.
“But he has to show a sense of change,” as he did in part after Princess Diana’s death in 1997.
The right-wing newspaper Daily Mail reports that William respects his father’s and grandmother’s viewpoint “but believes the monarchy must be ‘agile’ to survive and thrive”.
William and his wife cat The march had a turbulent tour of the Caribbean, marred by anti-monarchical protests and accusations of colonial overtones.
“He is looking forward to seeing how things will be in 40 years’ time. He wants the monarchy to remain a unifying force, to bridge the gap,” the Mail wrote.
William is also open to a lesser role for the monarchy in the Commonwealth, which has the Queen as head of state among its 14 members other than the UK.
Commonwealth member Barbados stepped down from the Queen as head of state last November, but Hazel suspects going back to Britain would have a domino effect.
In any case, the UK would need a referendum to become a republic, but no one is calling it and it is not seen as a political vote-winner.
Furthermore, he said, “Britain is a republic in all but name”.
“Our monarchy is a parliamentary monarchy and a constitutional monarchy, where the monarch has no effective political power.”
Whereas in countries such as France the “president is the monarch,” Britain’s imperial head of state has long held the job.
“So it’s easier for people to identify with the head of state and actually identify and feel loyalty to the head of state and other members of the royal family,” Hazel said.