87
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Why don't right-wing dictators crown themselves king?
tl;dr: Because the middle ages are over.
You no longer want to be King - you want to be President
Most of the world used to be ruled by kings and emperors, but today the only remaining absolute ...
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72
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What is the biggest monarchy where the monarch has real power in modern day?
By almost any measure, Saudi Arabia takes the prize.
Most of the absolute monarchies or even monarchies where the monarchy has more than symbolic power outside a rare constitutional crisis are in the ...
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68
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Is it possible to live as a British/Canadian/Australian while openly disavowing the Monarchy?
TLDR
From natural-born citizens at least, no, you don't need to swear such allegiance, unless you're doing some very specific jobs. Even in such jobs, possible with some exceptional circumstances, ...
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64
votes
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What would happen if the Queen died immediately before a general election?
Upon the Demise of the crown (which covers both the death of the current monarch or their abdication, or any other event ending the reign of the monarch), the next in succession immediately becomes ...
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55
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Is it possible to live as a British/Canadian/Australian while openly disavowing the Monarchy?
I have been a Canadian my whole life and I do not recall ever being asked to "swear allegiance" to the monarch verbally.
Generally the monarchy is popular in a celebrity kind of way and while there ...
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50
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What made Queen Elizabeth so popular?
She actively engaged in what is universally considered as good (charity).
She avoided controversial things. You say “as monarch she had almost zero decision power and never spoke on politically ...
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48
votes
Could the Queen overturn the UK Supreme Court ruling regarding prorogation of Parliament?
No.
I suggest the best source for this is probably the ruling of the Supreme Court itself. I'd encourage you to read it in full - it's not long and surprisingly readable.
The legal argument the ...
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47
votes
What explains the durability of Arab monarchies?
Several points. Not all of them (especially the first) are equally applicable in each case. But, most of the points apply to all of them.
1. Monarchies work well when the economy is dominated by rents ...
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46
votes
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Can the Queen of the United Kingdom appoint her successor?
No.
Succession to the British throne is determined by Parliament, not by the personal decision of the monarch.
The relevant law is the Succession to the Crown Act (2013). This amends the 1701 Act of ...
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43
votes
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How might the United Kingdom become a republic?
Another revolution, obviously. They did that in 1649.
Much more likely, they would politely inform the Queen that the people don't seem to want a Queen any more. If that is really the case, and not ...
- 113k
43
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Is the title and cypher of a monarch modified if the Queen has the same name as her predecessing king?
There has never been a case in which a queen has shared a name with a preceding king nor a king has shared a name with a preceding queen. There have been no Queen William, Queen Richard, Queen Henry, ...
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42
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Could the Queen overturn the UK Supreme Court ruling regarding prorogation of Parliament?
In the UK constitutional system, the Queen is not above the judiciary—she is the judiciary. As Wikipedia notes:
The sovereign is deemed the "fount of justice"; although the sovereign does not ...
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42
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Are there any examples of a king or dictator choosing to give up power by moving towards a more democratic governmental system?
Bhutan is the best example I can think of - the 'Dragon King' of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck ruled the country for 33 years, and then voluntarily devolved power to transform his kingdom into a ...
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41
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Why don't right-wing dictators crown themselves king?
The short answer would be: Because even dictators cannot simply do whatever they want.
Let's for example take a look at one of the oldest dictators of history: Caesar Augustus.
Now, technically ...
- 6,079
40
votes
Is it possible to live as a British/Canadian/Australian while openly disavowing the Monarchy?
This is a complete non-issue in the UK. For example, the leader of the opposition in Parliament, Jeremy Corbyn, has openly refused to sing the National Anthem when attending high profile, televised, ...
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36
votes
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What will go on new post boxes when Prince Charles becomes king?
Royal Cypher
The "E II R" is known as the royal cypher. In this case, it stands for "Elizabeth II, Regina".
The design of the royal cypher is not fixed; it doesn't have to take the ...
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35
votes
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Who Would Serve As Regent If King Charles and Prince William Died?
Since 1937, this has been governed by the Regency Act 1937, which sets out the following steps to determine who would serve as Regent:
If a Regency becomes necessary under this Act, the Regent shall ...
CDJB♦
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34
votes
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What, if anything, can disqualify one from inheriting the British throne?
There are a number of things that would make you legally ineligible to succeed to the throne, but infidelity, (normal) criminal activity and immoral behaviour aren't to be found on that list.
So, ...
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34
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How was Barbados able to remove the Queen as head of state without a referendum?
Barbados was able to do so because under Article 49 of Barbados' Constitution, Parliament is empowered to alter the document through the passage of an Act through both of its Houses - as long as that ...
CDJB♦
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33
votes
How and why has the UK been arresting anti-monarchy protestors?
I think it's important to be clear that the police have not been arresting protestors "for being anti-monarchy in public". While calling for the abolition of the monarchy is technically ...
CDJB♦
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28
votes
Is the Queen privy to any state secrets?
There has been public confirmation that the Queen (and also Prince Charles) is on the standard circulation list for Cabinet memoranda. More directly, information about things like security ...
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28
votes
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What is the Queen of the United Kingdom's "Official" Birthday?
Official ceremonies (not the official birthday) are held in June to maximize the chance of having good weather. This is not something new for the UK's monarchy:
Official celebrations to mark the ...
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28
votes
Can the oath to the monarch be "honestly" removed in the British Parliament
The reason why parliament members in the United Kingdom must swear allegiance to the monarch is because the parliament decided that. The Oaths Act 1978 mandates who needs to swear what, when and how. ...
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28
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Are there any examples of a king or dictator choosing to give up power by moving towards a more democratic governmental system?
He's in the doghouse these days for dodgy financials and elephant safaris but Juan Carlos of Spain seems to somewhat fit the role in 1975.
King Juan Carlos I began his reign as head of state without ...
26
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Is it possible to live as a British/Canadian/Australian while openly disavowing the Monarchy?
British person here, swearing an oath of loyalty to the monarch only happens if you join government service of some kind (millitary, police, etc). Otherwise it almost never comes up. While I quite ...
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26
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If a King in a traditional European-style monarchy resigns in favor of his son (and is thus still part of the ruling family), what is his title?
Nitpick: there are no "medieval style monarchies" in Europe. Some monarchies may claim a lineage to medieval institutions, but that is not the same. And AFAIK, none is directly descending ...
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25
votes
Accepted
Do Sunnis support monarchy and Shias support republic?
If anything it is the other way round. The key political difference between Sunni and Shia Islam is the status of the family of the prophet.
In Shia Islam, God chose Ali, who was Muhammad's cousin ...
- 124k
24
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Is it possible to live as a British/Canadian/Australian while openly disavowing the Monarchy?
New citizens
Others have discussed most about those having citizenship from birth. I will attempt to answer this part of your question:
What about a non-natural person otherwise qualifying for ...
JJJ♦
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24
votes
What position & power does the Church of England assume in the upper house of Lords?
The principal power of the Church of England in the House of Lords is vested in the Lords Spiritual - Church of England bishops who are granted seats in the House. Since the Bishopric of Manchester ...
CDJB♦
- 108k
21
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Could the Queen overturn the UK Supreme Court ruling regarding prorogation of Parliament?
When you start to consider the way the UK constitution works you need to distinguish clearly "The Queen" (a 93 year old woman who likes horses and Corgi dogs) from "The Queen" (Dei Gratia Monarch of ...
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