The development of the British Parliamentary Monarchy

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Introduction

Britain's monarchy has evolved over many centuries. It emerged as the unified Crown of the United Kingdom as the Anglo-Saxon kingdom merged, followed by Wales and Ireland falling under the authority of the English crown, and finally with the union of the English and Scottish crowns under James I (James VI of Scotland). Through civil war, constitutional and religious reforms, and the days of the Empire, one can trace the development of the British Crown.

In the Dark Ages, during the fifth and sixth centuries, communities of peoples in Britain inhabited homelands with ill-defined borders. Such communities were organised and led by chieftains or kings, but notwithstanding this, the monarchy wasn't such a strong institution as it was to become later.

The rise of such community kingdoms was shaped by the final withdrawal of the Roman legions from the provinces of Britannia around 408 AD. As a result, these small kingdoms were left to preserve their own order, and to deal with invaders and irresistible waves of migrant peoples, such as the Picts from beyond Hadrian's Wall, the Scots from Ireland, and various Germanic tribes from the continent. Legendary King Arthur, who seems to be the most well-known king this period, has often been cited as a leader of one or more of these kingdoms at this time.

1. Anglo-Saxon Period

Anglo-Saxons settled in Britain in the fate fifth and early sixth centuries, and by 650 AD, the British Isles were a patchwork of many kingdoms founded from native or immigrant communities and led by powerful chieftains or kings. Until the late seventh century a series of warrior-kings in turn established their own personal authority over other kings. This position was usually won by force or through alliances and often cemented by dynastic marriages. They were elected by the Witan and ruled with the advice of the councilors, the great men of the kingdom.

From the late 8th century, attacks by Vikings from Scandinavia increased, and in 871 the Danish army attacked Wessex. The Wessex forces under the command of Alfred, defeated the Danes at the Battle of Edington in 878. The Danes withdrew to an area north of a frontier running from London to Chester are known as "Danelaw", while Alfred was master of the South and West of England.

This victory did not end the Danish threat, and Alfred reorganised Wessex defences by organising his army on a rota basis, so he could raise a “rapid reaction force” to deal with raiders whilst still enabling his peasants to tend their farms. Second, Alfred started a building programme of well-defended settlements across southern England as a defence in depth against Danish raiders. Alfred also ordered the building of a navy of new fast ships to patrol the coasts and meet invaders before they penetrated inland.

The energetic royal authority demonstrated in Alfred's policies presaged the Wessex kings' rule all England during the next century.

And the Danes Blew In...

Alfred the Great saved England from Danish conquest; but in the 10th-11th centuries the Danes managed to expand their possessions in Great Britain and from 1013 to 1042 Danish royal power triumphed in England. Canute (reigned 1016-35) became undisputed King of England, and his rivals fled abroad. During his reign, Canute also became King of Denmark and Norway, his inheritance and formidable personality combined to make him overlord of a huge northern empire.

In 1042 Edward “the Confessor” (reigned 1032-66), Ethelred's surviving son, became King. With few rivals, Edward was King; the threat of usurpation by the King of Norway rallied the English and Danes in allegiance to Edward. Brought up in exile in Normandy, Edward lacked military ability or reputation.

On Edward's death, the King's Council confirmed Edward's brother-in-law Harold, Earl of Wessex, as King. With no royal blood, and fearing rival claims from William Duke of Normandy and the King of Norway, Harold had himself crowned in Westminster Abbey on 6 January 1066, the day after Edward's death. During his brief reign, Harold showed he was an outstanding commander.

Meanwhile, William, Duke of Normandy (who claimed Harold had acknowledged him in 1064 as Edward's successor) had landed in Sussex. Harold rushed south and, on 14 October 1066, his army of some 7,000 infantry was defeated on the field of Senlac near Hastings. Harold was hit in the eye by an arrow and cut down by Norman swords.

The Norman Conquest did have immediate social, political and cultural implications. The reign of the House of Normandy and that Angevin was the period of the Domesday Book (1086) and of the Magna Carta Libertata (1215). Besides, this was a period of civil wars, disagreements between the King and the Church, the King and the nobles, and barons.

William I, “the Conqueror”, Duke of Normandy, firmly established the feudal system by giving the lands of defeated Saxon nobles to his followers in return for military service by a certain number of knights, so that the tenants' foremost obligation was allegiance to the King. In 1086, William commissioned the Domesday Book, to record land holdings for the assessment of taxes and other dues. According to it `the King, wise or foolish, was the lord of lords, with only Lord in Heaven and the Saints above him.”

Strong, outspoken and ruddy William II extended his father's policies, taking royal power to the far north of England. William's relations with the Church were not easy.

An energetic, decisive and occasionally cruel ruler, Henry I centralised the administration of England and Normandy in the royal court. He successfully sought to increase royal revenues. Henry had a legitimate daughter Matilda (widow of Emperor Henry V, subsequently married to the Count of Anjou). However, it was his nephew Stephen, who succeeded Henry after his death.

Henry I's daughter Matilda invaded England in 139l to claim the throne, and the country was plunged into civil war. Although, anarchy never spread over the whole country, local feuds were pursued under the cover of the civil war; the bond between the King and the nobles broke down, and senior figures (including Stephen's brother Henry) freely changed allegiances as it suited them.

By 1158, Henry II had restored to the Crown some of the lands and loyal power lost by Stephen. Henry's disagreements with the Archbishop of Canterbury (the king's former chief adviser), Thomas Becket, over Church-State relations ended in Becket's murder in 1170 and a papal interdict on England. Henry died in France in 1189, at war with his son Richard who had joined forces with king Philip of France to attack Normandy.

Henry's elder son, Richard I, fulfilled his main ambition by going on crusade in 1190, leaving the ruling of England to others. After his victories over Saladin at the siege of Acre and the battles of Arsuf and Jaffa, concluded by the treaty of Jaffa (1192), Richard was returning from the Holy Land when he was captured in Austria later that year. In early 1193, Richard was transferred to Emperor Henry VI's custody.

In Richard's absence in England, Richard's brother John occupied Windsor Castle and prepared an invasion of England by Flemish mercenaries, but it failed and John fled to the French court. By the time of his death, Richard had recovered all his lands. His success was short-lived. In 1199 his brother John became king and Philip successfully invaded Normandy. By I203, John had retreated to England, losing his French lands of Normandy and Anjou by 1205.

John I was an able administrator interested in law and government but he neither trusted others nor was trusted by them. Heavy taxation, disputes with the Church and unsuccessful attempts to recover his French possessions made him unpopular. Many of his barons rebelled and in June 1215 they forced the King to sign a peace treaty accepting their reforms.

This treaty, later known as the Magna Carta, limited royal powers, defined feudal obligations between the King and the barons, and guaranteed a number of rights. The most influential clauses concerned the freedom of the Church; the redress of grievances of owners and tenants of land; the need to consult the Great Council of the Realm so as to prevent unjust taxation; mercantile and trading relationships; regulation of the machinery of justice so that justice be denied to no one; and the requirement to control the behaviour of royal officials. The most important clauses established the basis of habeas corpus (“you have the body”), i.e. that no one shall be imprisoned except by due process of law, and that “to no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay right or justice”. The Magna Carta was the first formal document insisting that the Sovereign was as much under the rule of law as his people; and that the rights of individuals were to be upheld even against the wishes of the sovereign.

As a source of fundamental constitutional principles, the Magna Carta came to be seen as an important definition of aspects of English law, and in later centuries as the basis of the liberties of the English people. As a peace treaty the Magna Carta was a failure and the rebels invited Louis of France to become their king. When John died in 1216 England, was in the grip of civil war.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, the making of Parliament and a number of problems which followed it were the main historical phenomena.

In 1262 a Civil war broke out, initiated by the nobles eager to define common low in the spirit of the Magna Carta, control appointments and set up an aristocratic council. The barons, under their leader, Simon de Montfort, were initially successful and even captured Henry III. In 1265 Parliament was summoned with “commons” represented in it -- two knights from a shire and two merchants from a town. However, Henry finally defeated and killed de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, Royal authority was restored by the Statute of Marlborough (1267), in which the King also promised to uphold the Magna Carta and some of the Provisions of Westminster.

Edward I, who succeeded his father, was an able administrator and law-maker. He gained control of Wales. In 1301, he designated his eldest surviving son, Edward, the firsl English Prince of Wales. Wanting to unite the country behind him and to raise money for his campaigns in Wales and Scotland (including another war in France in 1293), in 1295 the king called what became known as the “Model Parliament”. In 1296 Edward seized the national treasure -- the Stone of Destiny from Scone Abbey, but failed to subdue the Scots.

Edward II had few of the qualities that made a successful medieval king. Large debts (many inherited) and the Scots' victory at Bannockburn by Robert the Bruce in 1314 made Edward more unpopular. In Edward's wife, Isabella of France, led an invasion against her husband. In 1327 Edward was made to renounce the throne in favour of his son Edward.

Edward III created the Duchy of Cornwall to provide the heir to the throne with an income independent of the sovereign or the state. An able soldier and an inspiring leader, Edward founded the Order of the Garter in 1348.

At the beginning of the Hundred Years War in 1337, actual campaigning started when the King invaded France in 1339 and laid claim to the throne of France. The war was carried on during the reigns of five English Kings. By 1360 Edward controlled over a quarter of France. His successes consolidated the support of the nobles, lessened criticism of the taxes, and improved relations with Parliament.

The Black Death plague oulbreaks of 1348--9, 1361--2 rind 1369 inficted severe social dislocation and so severe laws were introduced to attempt to fix wages and prices. In 1376, the “Good Parliament” attacked the high taxes and criticised the King's advisers.

The King's grandson, Richard II, succeeded to the throne. In 1381 the Peasants' Revolt broke out. It made far reaching demands: a charter of liberties, the end of all lordship except the King's, the end of serfdom, return of church land to people. Wat Tyler, the principal leader of the peasants, was killed and the uprisings in the rest of the country were crushed over the nest few weeks.

In 1388 the “Merciless Parliament” led by a group of lords hostile to Richard (headed by the King's uncle, Gloucester) sentenced many of the King's favorites to death and forced Richard to renew his coronation oath. Richard took his revenge in 1397, arresting or banishing many of his opponents.

In 1399, whilst Richard was in Ireland, Henry of Bolingbroke returned to claim his father's inheritance. Supported by some of the leading baronial families. Henry captured and deposed Richard. Bolingbroke was crowned King as Henry IV.

2. The Lancastrians

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The 15th century saw the continuation of the struggle for the crown and the establishment of the Lancaster dynasty in the person of Henry IV, King of England.

Henry's successful usurpation did not lead to general recognition of his claim (he remained unrecognised as King by Charles VI of France), but by 1408 Henry had gained control of the country. Henry was dogged by illness from 1405 onwards; bis son played a greater role in government (even opposing King at times).

Soon after his accession, Henry V laid claim to the French crown. Stern and ruthless, Henry was a brilliant general. Henry gained control of Normandy Treaty of Troyes (1420), he gained recognition as heir to the French throne, and married Charles VI's daughter Katherine. However, Henry's success was shor-lived and he died of dysentery in 1422 in Bois de Vincennes France.

Henry VI succeeded to the throne at the age of one. His minority was dominated by his uncles Cardinal Beaufort and the Duke of Gloucester (who opposed each other). The dual monarchy proved too difficult for the King and England to maintain; the successes of the Dauphin and Joan of Arc began to weaken England's qrip on its French possessions and Normandy was lost in 1450.

In 1453 (the end of the Hundred Year's War) the King became ill and Richard, Duke of York, was made Protector in 1454. The King recovered in 1455, but civil war between the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions broke out (the Wars of the Roses). They were struggling to decide if the succession should keep to the male line or could pass through females. The Duke of York was killed at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460.

In 1461, his son Edward, an able commander, defeated the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton. London opened its gates to the Yorkist forces; Henry and his queen fled to Scotland. An unsuccessful military campaigner. Henry was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1465, but was restored to the throne in 1470. Hit brief period of freedom ended after the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 (when Edward IV regained the throne, and Henry was put to death in the Tower of London).

Edward IV was able to restore order. Edward also made peace with France; he reached a profitable agreement with Louis XI at Picquigny in 1475.

At home, Edward relied heavily on his own personal control in government, reviving the ancient custom of sitting in person “on the bench” (i.e. in judgement) to enforce justice. He sacked Lancastrian office-holders and used his financial acumen to introduce tight management of royal revenues to reduce the Crown's debt. Building closer relations with the merchant community, he encouraged commercial treaties; he successfully traded in wool on his own account to restore his family's fortunes and enable the King to “live of his own'”, paying the costs of the country's administration from the Crown Estates profits and freeing him from dependence on subsidies from Parliament.

Edward V was a minor, and his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was made Protector. In response to an attempt by Elizabeth Woodnille (Edward IV's wife) to take power. Richard and Edward V entered London in May, with Edward's coronation fixed for 22 June. However, in mid-June Richard assumed the throne as Richard III. Edward V and his younger brother Richard were declared illegitimate, taken to the Royal apartments at the Tower of London (then a Royal residence) and never seen again.

Richard the III's reliance on northerners during his reign was to increase resentment in the south. In I484, Richard's only legitimate son Edward predeceased him. Resentment against Richard grew. On 7 August 1485, Henry Tudor (a direct descendant through his mother Margaret Beaufort, of John of Gaunt, one of Edward III's younger sons) landed at Milford Haven in Wales to claim the throne. On 22 August in a two-hour battle at Bosworth. Henry's forces defeated Richard's larger army and Richard was killed. Buried without a monument in Leicester, Richard's bones were scattered during the English Reformation.

Henry VII's first task was to secure his position. In 1486 he married Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV, thus uniting the Houses of York and Lancaster. Henry strengthened the power of the monarchy by using traditional methods of government to tighten royal administration and increase revenues (reportedly including a daily examination of accounts). Royal income rose from an annual average of Ј52,000 to Ј142.000 by the end of Henry's reign. Little co-operation between King and Parliament was required; during Henry's reign of 24 years, seven Parliaments sat for some ten and a half months. Henry spent money shrewdly and left a full treasury on his death in 1509.

Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon, provided him with a daughter, Mary, but no male heir. In order to divorce her, he broke with the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself Supreme Head of the Church of England. Five subsequent marriages produced two children, Elizabeth and Edward.

The break with Rome led to the beginnings of the English Reformation. Control of Wales was strengthened by the Acts of Union of 1536 and 1542 which united England and Wales administratively and legally, and gave Wales representation in Parliament. Henry died in 1547, leaving his sickly 10-year-old son to inherit the throne as Edward VI.

Edward VI's short reign was dominated by nobles using the Regency to strengthen their own positions. During his reign, the Church of England became more explicitly Protestant - Edward himself was fiercely Protestant. However, the young King was ailing. Northumberland hurriedly married his son Lord Guilford Dudley to Lady Jane Grey, one of Henry VIII's great-nieces and a claimant to the throne. Edward accepted Jane as his heir and, on his death from tuberculosis in I553, Lady Jane Grey assumed the throne. Despite the Council recognising her claim, the country rallied to Mary, Catherine of Aragon's daughter and a devout Roman Catholic. Jane reigned for only nine days and was later executed (as was her husband) in 1554.

Mary I was the first Queen Regnant (that is, a queen reigning in her own right rather than a queen through marriage to a king). She restored papal supremacy in England, abandoned the title of Supreme Head of the Church, reintroduced Roman Catholic bishops and began the slow reintroduction of monastic orders. Mary also revived the old heresy laws to secure the religious conversion of the country; heresy was regarded as a religious and civil offence amounting to treason. As a result, around 300 Protestant heretics were burnt in three years and Mary was called "Bloody Mary".

The marriage with Philip, King of Spain, was childless. Philip spent most of his time on the continent, England obtained no share in the Spanish monopolies in New World trade and the alliance with Spain dragged England into a war with France. Popular discontent grew when Calais, the last vestige of England's possessions in France dating from William the Conqueror's time, was captured by the French in 1558. Dogged by ill health, Mary died later that year possibly from cancer, leaving the crown to her half-sister Elizabeth.

Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and second wife Anne Boleyn, returned England to Protestantism while still managing to secure order. She refused to marry or name her successor as marriage could have created foreign alliance difficulties or encouraged factionalism at home. Her rightful heir was her cousin. Mary, Queen of Scots, who, threatened by rebellion in Scotland, fled to England. Imprisoned by Elizabeth in 1567, Mary plotted with English Roman Catholics and with Spain, France and the Pope.

The threat to the English throne which this posed resulted in Mary's execution in 1587 and led to outright war with Spain. In 1588 Philip of Spain's invasion fleet, the “Armada”, was defeated. There were two further Armadas in the 1590s, and an Irish revolt in 1595, assisted by Spain, which was eventually put down in 1601.

The financial strains caused by the war against Spain meant that Elizabeth did not try to put the Crown on a permanently solvent basis. She died in 1603 still refusing to name her successor.

James I, son of Mary, Queen of Scots (and descended from Henry VII's daughter Margaret), had been King of Scotland for 36 years, when he became King of England. Although he was King of both countries, James's attempt to create a full governmental union proved premature.

The Gunpowder Plot (an attempt by Guy Fawkes and other Roman Catholic conspirators to blow up the Houses of Parliament) in 1605 resulted in the reimposition of strict penalties on Roman Catholics,

Although he believed that kings took their authority from God, James accepted thai his actions were subject to the law. Unable, like many of his predecessors, to put royal finances on a sound footing, James was often in dispute with his Parliaments. A proposed “Great Contract” (1610), under which Parliament would provide a regular income to the Crown to meet government costs and maintain the navy and army, in exchange for modifying the monarch's fundraising, came to nothing. The Addled Parliament of 1614 lasted eight weeks. The Thirty Years War (1618-48) in Europe spread, and financial pressures forced James in 1621 to summon Parliament, but when the House of Commons tried to debate wider aspects of foreign policy and asserted their right to discuss any subject, James dissolved it. A further Parliament, summoned in 1624, failed to resolve foreign policy questions. On James's death in 1625, the kingdom was on the verge of war with Spain.

Charles I was a shy, aloof man who lacked the qualities necessary to make him a successful ruler. Parliament refused to grant him taxes for his wars against France and Spain and he raised money by other means such as forced loans. His third Parliament criticised his management of the wars and condemned his illegal taxation, whereupon he dissolved Parliament and for the next 11 years governed without it.

In 1640 Charles was forced to call Parliament to pay for his war against the Scots on whom he was trying to impose an Anglican prayer book. However, Charles's attempt to arrest five leading members of the House of Commons, and end a Roman Catholic rebellion in Ireland (which sharpened the debate over the command of the army) helped to push the King and Parliament apart. In 1642 a civil war broke out.

By 1647 the King's army had been defeated. Attempts were made to reach a settlement but after Charles's escape and renewal of the war, the leaders of the Parliamentary army determined that the King should be put on trial. In January 1649 he was tried for waging war on his people, condemned to death and executed at Whitehall in London.

Cromwell's convincing military successes at Droghedaw in Ireland (1649), Dunbar in Scotland (1650) and Worcester in England (1651) forced Charles I's son into foreign exile despite being accepted as King in Scotland.

From 1649 to 1660 England was therefore a republic during a period known as the Interregnum (“between reigns”). A series of political experiments followed, as the country's rulers tried to redefine and establish a workable constitution without monarchy.

Throughout the Interregnum Cromwell's relationship with Parliament was a troubled one, with tensions over the nature of the constitution and the issue of supremacy control of the armed forces and debate over religious toleration. In 1653 Parliament was dissolved, and under the Instrument of Government, Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector, later refusing the offer of the throne. Further disputes with the House of Commons followed; at one stage Cromwell resorted to regional rule by a number of the armys major generals. After Cromwell's death in 1658 and the failure of his son Richard's short-lived Protectorate the army under General Monk invited Charles I's son, Charles, to become King.

Charles II (reigned 1660 - 85) pursued a policy of political tolerance and power-sharing. In April 1660, fresh elections had been held and a Convention met with the House of Lords. Parliament invited Charles to return.

Despite the bitterness left from the Civil Wars and Charles I's execution, there were few detailed negotiations over the conditions of Charles II's restoration to the throne. However, the Militia Act of 1661 vested control of the armed forces in the Crown. The bishops were restored to their seats in the House of Lords, and the Triennial Act of 1641 was repealed -- there was no mechanism for enforcing the King's obligation to call Parliament at least once every three years. Under the 1660 Act of Indemnity and Oblivion, only the lands of the Crown and the Church were automatically resumed; the lands of Royalists and other dissenters which had been confiscated and/or sold were left for private negotiation or litigation.

The Opposition of the King became organised into a party with a majority in the newly elected Parliament. They managed to pass the Habeas Corpus Act (1679), which provided for protection of human rights of the new bourgeoisie. This Act, originally adopted against the arbitarry actions of Charles II, proved to be an essential milestone in the legal system of Great Britain.

The early years of Charles's reign saw an appalling plague which hit the country in 1665 with 70,000 death in London alone, and the Great Fire of London in 1665 which destroyed St Paul's Cathedral amongst other buildings.

Charles's foreign policy was a wavering balance of alliances with France and the Netherlands in turn. In 1677 Charles married his niece Mary to William of Orange.

Charles died in 1685, becoming a Roman Catholic on his deathbed.

James II grew up in exile after the Civil War and, after his brother's restoration, commanded the Royal Navy from I660 to 1673.

James converted to Catholicism 1669. Despite his conversion, he succeeded to the throne peacefully at the age of 51. Within days of his succession, James announced the summoning of Parliament in May but he sounded a warning note.

The fact that James was showing favouritism towards Roman Catholics led to conflict with Parliament. As a result, James prorogued Parliament in 1685 and ruled without it.

When his second (Roman Catholic wife, Mary of Modena, gave birth on 10 June 1688 to a son (James Stuart, later known as the “Old Pretender” and father of Charles's Edward Stuart, “Bonnie Prince Charlie”), it seamed that a Roman Catholic dynasty would be established. William of Orange, Protestant husband of James's elder daughter, Mary (by James's first and Protestant wife, Anne Hyde), was therefore welcomed when he invaded on 5 November I688. The Army and the Navy deserted to William, and James fled to France.

Jalmes's attempt to regain the throne by taking a French army to Ireland failed -- he was defeated at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. James spent the rest of his life in exile in France, dying there in 1701.

In 1689 William (reigned 1689-1702) and Mary (reigned 1689-94) were offered the throne as joint monarchs. They accepted a Declaration ot Rights (later a Bill), drawn up by a Convention of Parliament, which limited the Sovereign's power, reaffirmed Parliament's claim to control taxation and legislation, and provided guarantees against the abuses of power which James II and the other Sluart Kings had committed.

The Bill of Rights was designed to ensure that Parliament could function free from royal interference. The bills passed by Parliament were to be subjected to the Royal Assent, but the Monarch could not refuse to sign them. The Sovereign was forbidden from suspending or dispensinging with laws passed by Parliament, or imposing taxes wilhout Parliamentary consent. The Sovereign was not allowed to interfere with elections or freedom of speech, and proceedings in Parliament were not to be questioned in the courts or in any body outside Parliament itself. (This was the basis of modern parliamentary privilege.) The Sovereign was required to summon Parliament frequently. Parliament tightened control over the King's expenditure; the financial settlement reached with William and Mary deliberately made them dependent upon Parliament. Finally the King was forbidden to maintain a standing army in time of peace without Parliament's consent.

However, the Sovereign could still summon and dissolve Parliament, appoint and dismiss Ministers, veto legislation and declare war.

The so-called “Glorious Revolution” has been much debated over the degree to which it was conservative or radical in character. The result was a permanent shift in power; although the monarchy remained of central importance, Parliament had become a permanent feature of political life.

After 1688 there was a rapid development of political parties. Although the Tories had fully supported the Revolution, it was the Whigs (traditional critics of the monarchy) who supported William and consolidated their position. William appointed a Ministry in 1696 which was drawn from the Whigs; known as the Junto, it was regarded with suspicion by Members of Parliament as it met separately, but it may be regarded as the forerunner of the modern Cabinet of Ministers.

The Act of Settlement of 1701 was designed to secure the Protestanl succession to the throne, and to strengthen the guarantees for ensuring a parliamentary system of government According to the Act, succession to the throne went to Princess Sophia, Electress of Hanover and James I's granddaughter, and her Protestant heirs.

On William's death in 1702, his sister-in-law Anne (Protestant younger daughter of James II and his firsl wife) succeeded him. Within months, another war in Europe had started (the War of the Spanish Succession), which was to overshadow most of Anne's reign (1702-14). A series of military victories by John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, strengthened England's negotiating position at the end of the war. Under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, France recognised Anne's title.

Party politics became more significant throughout Anne's reign, with Whigs (who supported limited monarchy, and whose support tended to come from religious dissenters) and Tories (who favoured strong monarchy and the religious status quo embodied in the Church of England) competing for power. in 1707 the Parliaments of England and Scotland agreed to unite. Henceforth one British Parliament would sit at Westminster, and there would be a common flag and coinage. Scotland would, however, retain its own established Church and its legal and educational systems.

Until their dismissal in 1710, the political scene was dominated by Marlborough and the Lord Treasurer Godolphin, who headed a financial team mostly independent of the party factions. However, in 1711, as a result of a Tory ministry's disagreement with Whig majority in the House of Lords over the future peace settlement to war in Europe, Anne was persuaded to create peers for party purposes. This represented an important weakening of the royal prerogative.

As Sophia, Electress of Hanover, had died two months before Queen Anne (who died in 1714), Sophia's eldest sonGeorge, Elector of Hanover, inherited the throne under the Act of Settlement.

Unfamiliar with the customsof the country and a lacking fluent English, George I was dependent on his ministers - the Whigs dominated Parliament during his reign. After 1717 George rarely attended Cabinet meetings. This allowed the Cabinet to act collectively and formulate policies, which provided they were backed by a majority in the Commons, the king usually powerless to resist.

The most able of George's ministers, and know as the first “Prime Minister”, Walpole's was the longest running administration in British history (I721 - 42).

George II's reign was threatened in 1745 when Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender, landed in Scotland. Charles was defeated at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 and the Jacobite threat was over.

The foundations of the industrial revolution were laid during George's reign, with new levels of production in industries. Overseas trade was boosted by success.

George III was determined to appoint his own ministers and reassert some of the Monarch's independence lost under the first two Georges.

His reign saw the loss of the American colonies in 1783. After an uprising in Ireland in 1798, the Act of Union of 1801 linked Ireland and England and dissolved the Irish Parliament; instead Irish representatives went to the Westminster Parliament.

Beset by debts, George IV was in a weak position in relation to his Cabinet of ministers. In 1829 George IV was forced hy his ministers, much against his will and his interpretation of his coronation oath, to agree to Catholic Emancipation. By reducing religious discrimination, this emancipation enabled the monarchy to play a more national role.

William IV's reign was dominated by the Retorm crisis beginning almost immediately when Wellington's Tory covernment (which William suppoited) lost the general election in August 1830. Pledged to parliamentary reform, Grey's Whig government won a further election which William had to call in 1831 and then pushed through a reform bill against the opposition of the Tories and the House of Lords. The failure of the Tories to form an alternative government in 1832 meant that William had to sign the Great Reform Bill . Control of peerages had been used as a party weapon, and the royal prerogative had been damaged.

The Reform Bill abolished some of the worst abuses of the electoral system (for example, representation for so called “rotten boroughs”, which had long ceased to be of any importance, was stopped and new industrial towns obtained representation).

The Reform Act also introduced standardised rules for the franchise (different boroughs had previously had varying franrules) and, by extending the franchise to the middle classes, greatly increased the role of public opinion in the political process.

William understood the theory of the more limited monarchy, once saying “I have my view of things, and I tell them to my ministers. If they do not adopt them, I cannot help it. I have done my duty.”

William was succeeded by his niece, Victoria. Her long reign coincided with a fundamental change in the nature of the British monarchy by which its political power declined and was replaced by influence. In 1837 the government was still seen to a large extent as the Sovereign's government. However, the defeat of Melbourne's government in the 184I general election meant that, for the first time, the electorate had in effect chosen a Prime Minister (Peel) against the Sovereign's wishes. But since the political groups in Parliament were not wholly cohesive and none could form a majority on its own, the Queen could still exert influence. The coalition government of 1852, led by Aberdeen, was the last to be brought into existence by royal initiative, but royal support could not sustain this coalition when it was accused of incompetence during the Crimean War and it fell in 1855.

With the growth of the two-party system, which increasingly limited the Queen's power to choose her Prime Minister, her influence was directed more towards matters of government policy, particularly foreign affairs, and she was occasionally able to mediate in political crises.

In 1877, Victoria became Empress of India under the Royal Titles Act.

The Monarchy's importance increased at home and abroad. During Victoria's reign, the spread of self-government in the colonies (Dominions) coincided with a growth in imperial sentiment and the the Queen's personal prestige.

She had reigned longer than any other British monarch.

3. Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

Edward VII's main interests lay in foreign aflfairs and military and naval matters. Edward made a number of visits abroad. He also played an active role in encouraging military and naval reforms, pressing for the reform of the Army Medical Service and the modernisation of the Home Fleet.

In the last year of his life he was involved in the constitutional crisis about by the refusal of thc Conservative majority in the House ot Lords to pass the Liberal budget of 1909. The King died before the situation could he resolved by the Liberal victory in the election in 1910.

George V's reign (1910 - 36) began amid the continuing constitutional crisis over the House of Lords, which refused to pass aParliament Bill limiting its powers (which would remove its power to veto a bill from the Commons). After the Liberal government obtained the King's promise to create sufficient peers to overcome Conservative opposition in the Lords (and won a second election in 1910), the Parliament Bill was passed by the Lords in 1911 without a mass creation of peers.

In 1914 the First World War broke out. Support for home rule for Ireland had grown in the late 19th century. This was resisted by the Unionists in the north and by the Conservative Party. The 1916 “Easter Rising” in Dublin, and subsequent civil war, resulted in the setting up of the Irish Free Slate (later to become the Irish Republic) in 1922, while the six northern counties remained part of the United Kingdom. George played a conciliatory role on this, and on other occasions, such as the General Strike of 1926.

George readily accepted the first Labour government in 1924. Following the world economic slump of 1929, the King persuaded the Labour leader to head a National Government composed of all parties, which won the election of 193l. The Statute of Westminster of 1931 meant Dominion Parliaments could now pass laws without reference to United Kingdom laws, and abolished various reserve powers still possessed by the Crown and Parliament. This paradoxically increased the monarchy's importance, since the Dominions (no longer subordinated to one supreme Parliament at Westminsler) were now linked through common allegiance to the Crown.

The first monarch to be a qualified pilot, Edward VIII (reigned January - December 1936 created The King's Flight (now known as 32 The Royal Squadron) in I936 to provide air transport for the Royal family's official duties.

In 1930 the Prince had met and fallen in love with a married American woman, Mrs Wallis Simpson. She obtained a divorce in 1936 and it was clear that Edward was determined to marry her. Eventually Edward realised he had to choose between the Crown and Mrs Simpson who, as a twice-divorced woman, would not have been acceptable as Queen. On 11 December I936, Edward VIII gave Royal Assent to His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act, by which Edward VIII and any children he might have were excluded from succession to the throne. In 1937, Edward was created Duke of Windsor and married Wallis Simpson.

George VI (reigned 1936 - 52), a conscientious and dedicated man, reserved by nature, and of deep religious belief, he did not expect to become King. His dedication to duty, particularly during the Second World War, gained him great popularity. The King developed a close working relationship with his wartime Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, as most of Europe fell to Nazi Germany.

On Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945, Buckingham Palace was a local point of the celebrations. The war had immeasurably strengthened the link between the King and his people.

Changes in the Commonwealth meant that its tie was no longer based on common allegiance to the Crown, but upon recognition of the Sovereign as Head of the Commonwelth. These changes in the Commonwealth relationship and the social reforms of the post-war Labour government occurred against the background of Britain's weak post-war economic position and the beginning of the Cold War, which meant that the privations of war were extended well into the post-war period. By 1948, it seemed that Britain had overcome the worst hardships of the post-war years, but the King failed to recover from a lung operation, and died in his sleep on 6 February 1952. So, summing up to now, it's possible to say that there were three main stages in the development of the British monarchy. The first one was before John I and the Great Charter of Liberties, and the king was not bound by any law; he not only reigned, but ruled. Alter John I the monarchy was based on the law, and that was the second stage. The third phase began in I688, when the Glorious Revolution took place and since that time up to now ithe king has been under the law.

4. The Modern Monarchy

Although the monarchy was already limited by the Constitutional Revolution in 1688, its function changed radically from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. In the 1860s and 1870s there was open talk of republicanism. However, Queen Victoria, ably advised by hur prim minister, remodelled the monarchy to make it appear as the public symbol of national unity and as the paragon of family life in Britain.

The rupidly growing middle and working classes of Britain's cities loved it. Most of the formalised ritual, for example the State Opening of Parliament and Trooping the Colour, were invented at this time to generate a feeling of timeless tradition as a counterweight to the social shock waves of the Industrial Revolution. The monarchy offered the public a romantic link with a largely imaginary past. Because Britain was victorious in both world wars, the monarchy survived to become the focal point of the nation. George V attended the first football Cup Final at Wembley and made use of the radio to become a popular monarch. George VI and his consort, Elizabeth (known as the Queen Mother), made the monarchy yet more popular in the Second World War. By their refusal to leave Buckingham Palace after it had been bombed, and by their tours of badly bombed parts of London and other cities, they became the two most loved people in Britain.

When she came to the throne in 1952, Queen Elizabeth II sought to continue in the same tradition, and to give the various elements of society a sense of belonging, unity and purpose beyond material well-being. So immensely popular was she that, if anything, people were even more deferential to her than to her father. She personified something precious and vulnerable. So the Queen became “the living flag” , “the living icon”.

The reigning monarch is not only the head of the state but also a symbol of the unity of the nation. The monarchy is Britain's oldest secular institution, its continuity for over 1000 years was broken only once (1649 - 60).

The monarchy is hereditary, the succession passing automatically to the oldest male child. Or in the absence of males, to the oldest female offspring of the monarch.

The new Sovereign succeeds to the throne as soon as his or her predecessor dies and is at once proclaimed at an Accession Council in St James's Palace. All members of the Privy Council are summoned. Members of the House of Lords, the Lord Mayor and aldermen and other leading citizens of the City of London, and High Commissioners of Commonwealth countries are invited to attend. Following the proclamation, the Sovereign reads a declaration and takes the oath to preserve the Church of Scotland. The oath known as the accession declaration - an oath to maintain the established Protestant succession - is normally made at the next State Opening of Parliament.

If the monarch is under 18 on succeeding to the throne, there is provision for a regent to be appointed. This can also happen if the monarch is totally incapacitated.

In law the monarch is head of the executive and the judiciary, Head of the Church of England, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. However since 1689, the monarch's sovereign power resides in “the Crown in Parliament” - the idea that the Crown is only sovereign by the will of Parliament.

The remaining powers are basically to summon, suspend until the next session, and dissolve Parliament; to give royal assent to legislation passed by Parliament; to appoint government ministers, judges, officers of the armed forces, governors, diplomats and bishops of the Church; to confer honours, such as peerages and knighthoods; to remit sen-tences passed on convicted criminals; and finally to declare war on or make peace with an enemy power. In practice, of course with the exception of a few honours she is free to decide herself, the monarch discharges all these functions on the direction of the government. In most matters of state, the refusal of the Queen to exercise her power according to the direction of her Prime Minister would risk a serious constitutional crisis.

Queen in Parliament.

Limits began to be placed on the powers of the monarch as far back as I2l5when the the barons forced King John to recognise Magna Carta that they had cetain rights. The constitutional monarchy we know today developed in the 18th and I9th centuries, as day-to-doy power came to be exercised by Ministers in Cabinet, deriving their authority from Parliaments elected from a steadily widening electorate.

“Queen In Parliament” is the formal title of the British legislature, which consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Commons, a majority of whom normally support the government of the day, has the dominant political power.

As constitutional monarch, the Sovereign is required, on the advice of Ministers, to assent to all Bills. The Royal Assent (that is, consenting to a measure becomeing law) has not been refused since 1707. The role of the Sovereign in the enactment of legislation is today purely formal, although The Queen has the right to be consulted, to encourage and to warn.

The Queen in Parliament is most clearly demonstrated in the State Opening of Parliament, when The Queen opens Parliament in person, and address both Houses in The Queen's Speech. This speech, drafted by the Government and not by The Queen, outlines the Government's policy for the coming session of Parliament and indicates forthcoming legislation. Each session, therefore, begins with The Queen's Speech, and the Houses cannot start their public business until the Speech has been read.

Queen and Prime Minister.

The Queen retains certain residual powers, notably to appoint a Prime Minister, and to decide whether or not to grant a dissolution of Parliament. The Prime Minister is normally the leader of the party which has a majority in Parliament, but there could still be exceptional circumstances when The Queen might need to discretion she still retains to ensure that her Government is carried on.

These days, however, TheQueen's influence is mainly informal. She has a right and duty to express her view on government matters to the Prime Minister at their weekly audience, but these meetings--and all communications between the Monarch and her Government remain strictly confidential. Having expressed her view, the Queen abides by the advice of her Ministers.

Queen and Privy Council.

The Privy Council is the oldest form of legislative assembly still functioning; its origins date from the Norman King's Court, which met in private. Until the 17th century, the king and his Council were the Government, with Parliament's role limited to voting funds. Today, the Privy Councilhas limited, formal executive functions which retain some significance.

On the advice of the Privy Council, The Queen formally approved a large number of Orders in Council (which, by Acts of Parliament, enact subordinate legislation ranging rfom constitutions of dependant territories to international pollution). The Queen also approves Proclamations. The Privy Council also has certain judicial functions.

There are 400 Privy Councillors, consisting of all members of the Cabinet, a number of middle-ranking government ministers, leaders of the opposition parties in both Houses of Parliament, senior judges and some appointments fron the Commonwealth.

Queen and the Armed Services.

The monarch is Head of the Armed Forces and it is the monarch alone who can declare war and peace. (This dates from the times when the monarch was responsible for raising, maintaining and equipping the Army and Navy, and often leading them into battle.) These powers, however, cannot now be exercised on the monarch's own initiative. The Bill of Rights (1689) declared that “the raising or keeping of a standing army within the Kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with the consent of Parliament, is against the law”. The monarch's powers today cannot be exercised except upon the advice of responsible Ministers.

The existences of the Army (raised as a series of different regiments by colonels - historically, many of these were not loyal to the Government) and the Royal Air Force are legally based on the Army and Air Force Acts of 1955 and previous Parliamentary Acts; their continued existence depends on annual Continuation Orders passed by Parliament.

On enlistment, the Acts require members of the Army, Air Force and Royal Marines to take an oath of allegiance to the monarch as Head of the Armed Forces (those for whom it is against their religion to take oaths and those who are of no religion, affirm instead of swearing an oath). The Royal Navy was formed hundreds of years ago, and its existence stems from the sovereign's prerogative - members of the Navy have never therefore been required to take the oath. The oath of allegiance is sworn to the monarch, rather than to Parliament, which might be confused with the political party in power at the time. This reaffirmation of loyalty to the monarch, as Head of State, also ensures that the loyalty of servicemen and women as serving members of the Armed Services (regardless of their personal political beliefs) is not given to any one political party, but to the country in the form of the Head of State.

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