Queen doubted the future of the monarchy says commentator

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Support for the monarchy is declining, according to research conducted for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, which marked her 70 years on the throne. The proportion of Britons backing the Royal Family has slipped by 11 points to 62 percent compared to 10 years ago when it was 73 percent, a YouGov has found, and support for the Queen in some Commonwealth countries has also declined this year. Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Andrew Holness recently confirmed that his nation will become a republic and remove Her Majesty as its head of state, as Barbados did last year.

The Caribbean nations remain in the Commonwealth, the group of 56 independent nations, many of which were former British colonies.

The Queen, who is the head of the Commonwealth, has positioned the family of nations as centrally important to her reign, including in her Jubilee celebrations.

However, this approach has been a mistake, according to royal historian Dr Ed Owens, who claims that the Commonwealth has given the Royal Family and the nation a “false sense of importance”.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, he said: “She has seen the Commonwealth as a way of keeping the monarchy globally relevant, just like it was globally relevant in 1952.

“But again, Britain is not a top-tier nation anymore. It would be a second-tier nation alongside other great second-tier nations, the likes of, Japan, France, Brazil.

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“We are in that kind of tier of nation these days. But punching in the top league, you have got countries like Germany, the USA, China. They would be the three top tier nations.

“So, we have to ask ourselves, has the Commonwealth given us possibly as a nation, but certainly the monarchy, a false sense of importance?”

Dr Owens is a former university lecturer and expert on the House of Windsor, who wrote the book, ‘The Family Firm: Monarchy, Mass Media and the British Public, 1932-1953’.

Speaking about the Queen’s reign, he said: “The story of the monarchy in this period is that it has been present throughout a period that has been marked by relative decline.

“And arguably, with the loss of Britain’s industry, with the great shrinking of its geopolitical power, it is a much less significant nation today than it was in 1952.”

Despite his criticism of the Queen’s focus on the Commonwealth, Dr Owens was quick to praise the 96-year-old monarch.

He noted the many social and technological advances she has reigned over since she inherited the throne from her father King George VI in 1952 at the age of just 25.

However, the historian also suggested that the Queen may not have been forward-thinking enough in her approach to the monarchy.

Looking at the UK’s international reputation, he said: “I would suggest that there is another story here.

“I think one of the problems with Elzzabeth II’s reign – that we haven’t been honest enough about until historians have started to look at this recently – is that she has tried to maintain her monarchy as a global monarchy.

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“Much like the monarchy she inherited in 1952, she has done that through her commitment to the Commonwealth.

“She has been extremely active in ways that she could not be in domestic politics, because of course, she is meant to be nonpartisan, neutral.

“In the Commonwealth, she has taken a very active role in the political goings on in those countries because she has wanted to retain the monarchy’s global platform – and that is the Commonwealth.”

The Queen normally attends Commonwealth Day service, which this year focused on her Jubilee.

But due to her ongoing mobility issues the monarch pulled out of the event in March and was represented by Prince Charles and other senior royals.

In a statement to the Commonwealth’s 2.5 billion citizens for the occasion, Her Majesty spoke of her fondness for the Commonwealth, writing: “In this year of my Platinum Jubilee, it has given me pleasure to renew the promise I made in 1947, that my life will always be devoted in service.

“Today, it is rewarding to observe a modern, vibrant and connected Commonwealth that combines a wealth of history and tradition with the great social, cultural and technological advances of our time.

“That the Commonwealth stands ever taller is a credit to all who have been involved.”

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