Fugg the Queen and all the Royals on the planet

[malaise]

109. Forget the Queen's jubilee. Let's have a knees up for the Magna Carta

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/27/forget-queens-jubilee-kneesup-magna-carta
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The glossy newspaper supplements are out, the BBC (supposedly a hotbed of subversive lefties) is preparing wall-to-wall coverage, MPs are going on holiday for two weeks, the populace is ready to put out the flags and the picnic tables. In an orgy of deference, we are celebrating Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne. If any other country were paying homage to an unelected head of state in this way, while the living standards of the majority of the population fall and schools and hospitals struggle with diminishing resources, we would call it "the cult of the personality" and probably think about invading.

It is on this ground that republicans may find some purchase. A monarchy, particularly a slimmed-down Scandinavian version, may be just about tolerable, provided our public life asserts the primacy of democracy. Why should MPs not swear an oath to serve their constituents honestly and diligently and, as required of foreigners seeking British citizenship, to respect the country's "rights and freedoms" and to "uphold its democratic values"? Why should the pledge not be made in the MP's own constituency before a JP and a randomly selected audience of, say, 500? Why should the pledge not be annually renewed and the MP required to account to constituents on the same occasion? All this, away from the flummery involved in the Queen opening parliament, might remind MPs of their true responsibilities.

Again, we hold an annual celebration of monarchy – the trooping of the colour – but no equivalent celebration of democracy. We hold street parties to celebrate the landmarks of the monarch's life – coronations, jubilees, weddings of anyone in the direct line of succession – but not to mark the major events on the British road to a (partially) democratic constitution. Does anybody recall a knees-up to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1884 Reform Act, which extended the vote to a majority of adult males? Or for the 300th anniversary of the Glorious Revolution, marking the overthrow of a despotic monarch?

Monarchy, we are told, is merely a symbol. When MPs and judges pledge allegiance to the Queen, they are really pledging allegiance to Britain's history, traditions and way of life. When people hold street parties they are, according to the Daily Mail, engaged in "a glorious affirmation of Britishness". If so, we should think more about what monarchy actually symbolises: hierarchy, hereditary privilege, deference, feudalism, unearned wealth, militarism (the armed services being just about the only profession in which the royals seek serious employment). Democracy has a better story to tell. Republicans should help us develop symbols for its celebration. They may not immediately displace the royal symbols but, in time, people will come to love them more.
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Could not say it better