The monarchy's survival depends on maintaining illusions that are no longer sustainable
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jonathan-liew. "A hundred years after her birth, we still over-revere Queen Elizabeth II. The monarchy? Not so much | Jonathan Liew | The Guardian." April 21, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The author argues that the British royal family is in serious trouble because Queen Elizabeth II was personally keeping the whole system going through her skill and reputation. Now that she's gone, all the scandals and fundamental weirdness of having kings and queens in a modern democracy are becoming obvious, and the institution can't survive without the illusions she helped maintain.
Conclusion
The British monarchy faces an existential crisis because it can no longer maintain the elaborate illusions necessary for its survival in the post-Elizabeth II era
Premises
- Queen Elizabeth II personally remains popular in death, but support for the monarchy as an institution has dropped to historic lows
- The monarchy has lost all its traditional sources of legitimacy - it no longer represents power, decorum, relatability, or virtue
- Recent scandals, particularly involving Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein, have damaged the institution's reputation for dignity and moral authority
- Elizabeth II successfully maintained the monarchy's mystique through strategic adaptations over seven decades, but this path was 'narrow and treacherous'
- The current royal family lacks Elizabeth's ability to sustain the 'basic species mystique' that compels modern society to revere monarchy
- Without Elizabeth's presence and skill at maintaining illusions, the fundamental absurdity of monarchy in a post-Enlightenment society becomes exposed
Assumptions
- Monarchies require public belief in elaborate illusions to maintain legitimacy
- Elizabeth II's personal qualities were essential to the monarchy's survival rather than the institution being inherently stable
- Public reverence for monarchy is fundamentally irrational in modern democratic societies
- The monarchy's various historical justifications (power, tradition, entertainment value) have been permanently exhausted
- Scandals have lasting impact on institutional legitimacy rather than being temporary setbacks