The British public’s view on the monarchy has changed tremendously over the past two centuries. Because of this, the monarchy’s social and political roles have been steadily declining. The reasons behind this are the Great Reform Bill of 1832, growing political parties, and the actions of the Royal Family.
To begin, in 1830, William IV became king of Britian. Many events through William’s time as the king made it so that the monarchy lost power and influence on the country. First, in 1832, William went against his wishes and conceded to the public’s demands. He signed the Great Reform Bill of 1832, thus limiting what political powers the monarchy had. As time grew on the organization of the ...view middle of the document...
As for social roles, Victoria became the first monarchy to use trains and travel around for events. She became popular with the public and had both the Golden and Diamond Jubilees to celebrate her accession. These events made her more accessible to the public compared to the past monarchs. Although Victoria’s political powers were very limited, she still used her popularity with the masses to gain respect from the country.
During current Queen Elizabeth’s reign, the political roles of the monarchy are somewhat the same as the previous monarchs, however she must act with the advice of the ministers. These means her actions are what the leaders of the government want her to do. The monarchy’s social roles became greater in number than previous rulers. For example, because of technology and present day means of transportation, the Queen can travel the world making appearances. The Queen also tries to keep and maintain foreign relationships with other countries. On top of that, the Queen gives her time to many different charities, making her seem more down to earth and friendly. Even the Royal Couple, William and Kate, are seen mostly as a social icon rather than political figures (BYAT).
Even through the loss of much of their political roles, it does not mean the monarchy is not important to the United Kingdom. Due to royal scandals throughout the last half-century, much of the public opinion of the monarchy has decreased. Many of these scandals were the divorces of multiple royal people. However, after the death of Princess Diana, the popularity of the monarch grew. After that, celebrations like the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and Prince Charles and Camilla’s wedding also created...
