In all of your writing and meeting with royal families around the world, which country do you think has the best balance between monarchy and the state in terms of power/influence?
Is King Charles' failure to be Defender of the Faith i.e. the Church of England, as per his coronation oath, and his insistence on being a Defender of all Faiths, a betrayal of his mother's legacy?
King Edward VIII never had an heir, meaning that Queen Elizabeth II would have eventually ascended the throne in 1972, even if he had not abdicated in 1936. Do you think the British Royal family (and the United Kingdom as a whole) would have taken on a significantly different shape if Elizabeth II’s reign did not begin until the 1970s?
Can you weigh in on the Australian 1975 constitutional crisis and the Palace letters that were later released detailing the correspondence between the crown and governor general at the time? Do you believe the crown had a hand in Whitlam's dismissal? If so do you consider it to be a coup by the crown (alongside other players)?
With Christianity becoming more important as an identity in Britain particularly on the right, does the "perceived flirtation" of the King with Islam worry the Royal House and what is the religiosity of William as future head of the C of E?
Queen Elizabeth II was often praised for revealing almost nothing of her personal political views. King Charles, by contrast, appears more willing to speak publicly about issues like climate change, multiculturalism, and social cohesion. Do you think this represents a constitutional evolution of the monarchy, or is there a risk that expressing views on issues some people regard as politically contested could undermine the Crown's role as a unifying institution?
Wouldn't it serve King Charles (and the rest of us) better if he were to respond to a Jamaican government delegation petitioning him for historical slavery reparations with a plain "No"?
Lack of direct speaking nowadays does drag out wearisome themes.
Hi Robert, one thing i would like to ask any Royal but especially Queen Elizabeth II (my favourite) -when she was little - ie young enough to run under tables in lesser used rooms but trusted enough to be ignored and allowed to play - did she or any member of the family ever see any "graffiti" or hidden messages left by previous family members from hundreds of years ago? as places like Windsor Castle have rooms and furniture used for centuries?
As an Australian deeply concerned about global scenarios, I see the monarchy as currently increasingly being highly paid charity-focussed influencers. But doing little for affecting geo-political issues that need it.
There are huge issues that need strong leadership - of the weight a king or queen could deliver.
I believe 10 successive UK PM’s since Brexit?- and now it seems the UK is being subject to a reverse colonisation by the most concerning citizens of the world - Islamist extremists.
Is there much UK appetite for strong leadership which can affect this - even if it came from the monarchy and the current constitutional monarchy structure had to be adjusted to achieve this?
And if there was public appetite for the monarchy to step out with some strong leadership, is the house of Windsor best placed to do it, or are they now too far on the left, as the optics seem from Australia?
In all of your writing and meeting with royal families around the world, which country do you think has the best balance between monarchy and the state in terms of power/influence?
Is King Charles' failure to be Defender of the Faith i.e. the Church of England, as per his coronation oath, and his insistence on being a Defender of all Faiths, a betrayal of his mother's legacy?
The Royal families of Europe were closely related prior to the Great War because of mainly one person, Queen Victoria.
Why were they not able to possibly influence the politics surrounding the build up to that conflict?
Good question!
King Edward VIII never had an heir, meaning that Queen Elizabeth II would have eventually ascended the throne in 1972, even if he had not abdicated in 1936. Do you think the British Royal family (and the United Kingdom as a whole) would have taken on a significantly different shape if Elizabeth II’s reign did not begin until the 1970s?
Can you weigh in on the Australian 1975 constitutional crisis and the Palace letters that were later released detailing the correspondence between the crown and governor general at the time? Do you believe the crown had a hand in Whitlam's dismissal? If so do you consider it to be a coup by the crown (alongside other players)?
Should the people of the UK consider giving the monarchy some real political power to check Parliament?
What do you think will change the most in regards to the royal family by the time Prince George sits on the throne?
With Christianity becoming more important as an identity in Britain particularly on the right, does the "perceived flirtation" of the King with Islam worry the Royal House and what is the religiosity of William as future head of the C of E?
Queen Elizabeth II was often praised for revealing almost nothing of her personal political views. King Charles, by contrast, appears more willing to speak publicly about issues like climate change, multiculturalism, and social cohesion. Do you think this represents a constitutional evolution of the monarchy, or is there a risk that expressing views on issues some people regard as politically contested could undermine the Crown's role as a unifying institution?
Research shows that constitutional monarchies tend to enjoy higher levels of happiness than most republics. To what do you attribute this data?
Wouldn't it serve King Charles (and the rest of us) better if he were to respond to a Jamaican government delegation petitioning him for historical slavery reparations with a plain "No"?
Lack of direct speaking nowadays does drag out wearisome themes.
Hi Robert, one thing i would like to ask any Royal but especially Queen Elizabeth II (my favourite) -when she was little - ie young enough to run under tables in lesser used rooms but trusted enough to be ignored and allowed to play - did she or any member of the family ever see any "graffiti" or hidden messages left by previous family members from hundreds of years ago? as places like Windsor Castle have rooms and furniture used for centuries?
#controversialquestion…
As an Australian deeply concerned about global scenarios, I see the monarchy as currently increasingly being highly paid charity-focussed influencers. But doing little for affecting geo-political issues that need it.
There are huge issues that need strong leadership - of the weight a king or queen could deliver.
I believe 10 successive UK PM’s since Brexit?- and now it seems the UK is being subject to a reverse colonisation by the most concerning citizens of the world - Islamist extremists.
Is there much UK appetite for strong leadership which can affect this - even if it came from the monarchy and the current constitutional monarchy structure had to be adjusted to achieve this?
And if there was public appetite for the monarchy to step out with some strong leadership, is the house of Windsor best placed to do it, or are they now too far on the left, as the optics seem from Australia?
If King Charles is descended from William I, does that mean we worship a French king?
What happens to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, etc if the UK were to become a republic?