A new King of Australia has been coronated, although you might think of him under a different title. Which got me to thinking about the role of the monarchy in Australia and within Liberalism more generally.
When I was growing up it was very common to be told by the talking heads of the media that we should enjoy the monarchy while it lasted because no new Monarchists were being born. In other words it was old fashioned and in time it would die out. Most commenters said that Queen Elizabeth II would be the last monarch of Australia, because it was only her personal popularity that kept it alive. A King Charles III was an absurdity that was just laughable, he had neither the charisma nor the popularity to keep it going. Yet here we are with King Charles III and no popular movement towards becoming a republic.
Sure there are people who are Republicans, there are those who think an inherited head of state is weird and there are those who aren’t that interested at all. And yet every commercial television station, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Sky news broadcast it live. It obviously generated a great deal of interest. There are a lot of people out there who do think that this is important.
Because monarchy has a strength that other forms of government do not have, it is centred around family and individual people. Not for an election cycle but for their entire life. The life of both the royal and of the non-royal. That personal connection is a rarity when it comes to politicians and when it exists, much more fragile.
I was expecting much more criticism and hostility but both have been quite subdued. Republicans came out of the woodwork, but I still got the impression that the media was more interested in generating controversy than anything. I hear that a commentator on the BBC said that the royal family was too White. But all par for the course.
For decades rumours have circulated that this coronation would be very multicultural and multi-faith, so I was half expecting the worst. But to be honest I was pleasantly surprised with how traditional it was, including how White, British and Christian it was. I also heard some say that the ceremony was a break from tradition, but the truth is that every coronation has features that are unique to it and this one was no different in that regard.
The coronation proves something that we on the right should always take to heart, and that is that no matter what we are told the things that we love can go on and all that we have to do is to keep faith with what we believe. Never give up.
So let me say:
LONG LIVE THE KING OF AUSTRALIA, KING CHARLES III
Originally published at Upon Hope. You can find Mark’s Subscribestar here.
