The legitimacy of the British Monarchy starts of on shaky ground with the first King of the English Æthelstan. He was King from AD 927 after annexing the Viking Kingdom of York. Allied armies of the Nose, Scots and Strathclyde Briton invaders invaded and were routed at the Battle of Brunanburh. King Æthelstan was illegitimate at birth having been born to his fathers Mistress though she would later be Queen.
In AD 978 Æthelred II came to the throne following the assassination of his older brother Edward the Martyr. Æthelred the Unready was overthrown, albeit briefly, by Sweyn Forkbeard following the St. Brice’s Day massacre. Sweyn died a year after taking the throne and Aethelred returned to the throne. His reign of 37 years was the longest reign of any King until Henry III in the 13th Century. In 1016 Edmund Ironside succeeded his father but died and the son of usurper King Sweyn succeeded Edmund.
Bayeux Tapestry illustrating the Battle of Hastings.
Perhaps the most famous event in British Royal History created a number of illegitimate King’s, in 1066 King Harold II came to the throne following the death of Edward the Confessor. He was a usurper, Edgar who was grandson to Edmund Ironside was heir, but he was 13 but he was dispatched by Harold but was not killed.
His only real claim to the throne was that King Edward commended his widow and the Kingdom to Harold’s protection. The famous Bayeux Tapestry simply depicts Edward pointing to a man thought to be Edward. King Harold defeated the army of King Harold Hardrada but was killed at the Battle of Hastings and was briefly succeeded by Edgar. Following some pillages and waring the King fell to William the Conqueror. The second, first King of England. He is where most Historians start.
Henry II aligned his efforts with his Mother Matilda to claim the English throne from his cousin and predecessor Stephen, in the Anarchy between 1138 and 1153 resulting in the treaty of Wallingford which maintained Stephen as King but made Henry heir apparent.
King John’s reign saw the Baronial Revolt and the Sealing of Magna Carta – this is perhaps the most pivotal point of Royal Power in Britain. The Great Charter promised protection of church rights and protection for the Barons from illegal imprisonment. The Charter was annulled by Pope Innocent III as both sides to the agreements failed to stand by their comments. The Magna Carta was confirmed as part of English Statute Law in 1297 by Edward I.
Henry IV famously usurped the Throne in 1399 when he overthrew and imprisoned his cousin Richard II following the Wars of the Roses. He stabilised the monarchy and fought of rebellions from the Likes of Owain Glyndŵr and Henry Percy Hotspur. Edward IV deposed King Henry VI in 1461 and the Yorkist faction re-took the throne from the Lancastrians.
Richard III is perhaps the most famous usurper King, his reign shadowed by the story of the Princes in the Tower. He locked his nephews Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury were declared illegitimate as their parents’ marriage was ‘bigamous’. They disappeared from the Tower of London and stories still abound whether they died there or were paid off with land and title. Richard himself was then overthrown by Henry VII in the last decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, founding the House of Tudor under the Lancastrian banner. Succeeded by one of England’s most Famous King’s Henry VIII who will revisit in a later post.
Charles II came to the throne not following usurpation or war but the Restoration in 1660. In 1648 Parliament dissolved itself and called for the first general election in almost 20 years. The Convention Parliament welcomed the Declaration of Breda which saw Charles II promise lenience and tolerance.
1688 saw the Glorious Revolution which removed James II from the throne in place was his daughter Mary and his nephew William III of Orange who co-reigned for the first time in British history. Their successor Queen Anne died with no heir apparent, and George I became the first Hanoverian King as the Great-Grandson of James I.
Even our late Queen’s father King George VI wasn’t heir to the throne, he came to throne after his brother Edward VIII abdicated following the constitutional crisis that would ensue from his engagement to Wallace Simpson who had two living ex-husbands, this would be in direct contradiction to his role as the head of the Church of England and his reputation as a politically neutral head of state.
The Monarchy has shifted from total rule by divine right to a constitutional Monarchy that serves the public. The legality of such is hard to be specific about as the UK Constitution is uncodified, there is no one big written document that specifically outlines the rules. We have the magna carta, the Bill of Rights and countless of other pieces of legislation that form our constitution. The Monarch is constitutionally required to follow the advice of Government and does not rule or command law but works to focus national identity, stability, and continuity.
The powers of the Monarch are the Prerogative powers which have existed since the middle-ages, some of which are still exercised by the Reigning monarch, but many are performed by Ministers on behalf of the King. Recent examples of a Minister improperly using the Prerogative powers is the 2019 Prorogation of Parliament in which the Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson improperly advised Queen Elizabeth II to prorogue Parliament for five weeks.
In short, the Legality of the Royal Family has been a long, fraught battle from public subjugation to public respect and service. All our laws are passed in the name of the Monarch and perhaps they do personify legality. They are legal because of who they are, because of 1000+ years of history, but most importantly it’s what they do. To understand in full, one would have to delve into the numerous pieces almost like a theologian with scripture.
Opinion and Commentary
Our Monarchy’s legality rests on legitimacy and the right to rule, it exists because it still serves a role and simply because the British public haven’t chosen an alternative. Much like the 1040’s we could remove our Royal Family and vote for a head of state, but I believe there a few reasons we haven’t and probably won’t do that.
The cost of replacing, electing, and maintaining a head of state are too much for the taxpayer purse and cash is in this case very much the King. We would have to change all the Royal institutions such as the House of Lords, which would likely have to become a second chamber or removed completely which is an issue of itself. Then the cost of electing a head of state – a general election costs over £100m. The largest factor is that the Royal Family forego the income from their lands with profits going into the UK economy in return for the Sovereign Grant. It would be a legal and political minefield for any government to retrieve this land and money.
This moves us onto the practicalities, our Royal Family is one of the best functioning parts of our government, they are almost like an extra office of Government, going all around the country and abroad to further diplomacy, trade, economy, and perception. They deliver respect domestically, and internationally which is diplomatically unmatched.
Buckingham Palace
Line of Succession from Alfred the Great to the Present Day