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Author : E. Ananieva
Head, Center for British Studies at the Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Candidate
of Science (Philosophy)
ACADEMICS and man-in-the street are equally interested in the insti-
tute of monarchy, albeit for different reasons. The institute of British
monarchy is doubly interesting: On the one hand, it has been smoothly
functioning since the seventeenth century; on the other, embedded in
the country's democratic system it has retained some of its independent
functions. Galina Ostapenko, D. Sc. (History), the author of "The British
Monarchy From Queen Victoria to the Heirs of Elizabeth II: The Con-
cept of Governance and Personality of the Sovereign,"* has posed her-
self the task to "dissipate the illusions of Russian monarchists" through
an analysis of the contemporary constitutional monarchy in Great
Britain and transformation of its functions (pp. 3-4). This explains the
chronological limits - from Queen Victoria (1837-1901) to the transfer of royal prerogatives
from Elizabeth II to heir apparent Prince Charles.
The author has successfully combined the strictly academic approach and captivating style to
disclose the phenomenon of the British monarchy's amazing tenacity: It survived amid the rev-
olutionary upsurges on the continent when other monarchies disappeared and thrones tumbled
down. Dr. Ostapenko has looked into the ways the objective historical trends and purely subjec-
tive factors affected the transformations of the institute of monarchy in the context of the coun-
try's objective need to modernize the legislative and executive power (traced down to our days).
The subject goes far beyond the purely academic interest driven not by idle curiosity but by the
fact that it is closely connected with the country's future. The sovereign can use his royal pre-
rogatives after consultations with Parliament; amid political crises, however, the institute of
monarchy acquires more weight.
By preserving the institute of constitutional monarchy, the UK, "mother of parliaments" and
an epigone of western democracy, ensures continuity of power and preserves the order when
prime ministers and parties alternate at the helm. "In the words of Victorian Constitutional ex-
pert Walter Bagehot, editor of The Economist, 'a parliamentary system educates the public,
while a presidential system corrupts it'."14 Time is changing and the parliamentary system, House
of Lords in the first place, should be reformed. In the same way, the Scotland referendum on
independence in September 2014 caused backlash and the "phenomenon of English nationalism"
which moved the issue of state reforms high on the political agenda. The 2015 elections revealed
the glaring gap between the share of votes won by a political party and its share of seats in Par-
liament and revived the talks about an electoral reform.
The British as a nation of empiricists cannot bring any theory to its logical end and are never
bothered by its contradictory nature. The "lottery" of inherited monarchy is an illogical, unde-
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The British Monarchy: Does a Sovereign Reign but Not Rule?