The British and Spanish Monarchies: Setting Examples for the World

Jose Emmanuel Micael M. Eva VIII

BS Geography, University of the Philippines - Diliman

Introduction

The United Kingdom and Spain are only two of many interesting countries in Europe, which is perhaps the continent with the richest, most colorful complexity in recent history. Its peoples, collectively called as “Europeans”, are the pioneers in many fields highly significant to the society. To name some, we have Philosophy, Science, Economics, Political Science/Liberal Arts and Geography. And as pioneers of such contributions to the human race, it is just right that we study the ‘European’ from what it was, to what it has been, to what it is today. This short essay will do just that.

We are all “Political Animals”, as a respected European Political thinker, Aristotle, once said. This only proves how essential it is to study not just the political climate of Europe, but the Political Geography of the said continent as well. To show a microcosm of the ‘European’ as a political animal, we dissect the nations of Spain and the United Kingdom – two of the oldest existing monarchies in the world.

British Monarchy

England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are the four countries that comprise the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or simple, The United Kingdom or UK. The people are called either British or Briton. Although they may be regionally classified as English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh, their official language is English. Its closest neighboring country is France, which is around 35 kilometers (22 miles) southeast of UK, separated by the English Channel. More than half of the land area in UK is England. On its north is Scotland with nearly 800 islands covering a total of 78,722 square kilometers. And then there’s Wales on the west of England, having a coastline spanning a distance of 1,200 kilometers or 750 miles, most of it facing the west. The smallest would be Northern Ireland, which shares the only land border with another country, which is Ireland. Located in Northern Ireland is the largest body of water in UK, the Lough Neagh.

Aside from these four countries that comprise the unitary state of the United Kingdom, there are also fifteen (15) other territories around the world which are all part of the “Commonwealth.” And the head of these territories is the head of the British Monarchy, Queen Elizabeth II, making her the Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth Realms who has reigned from February 6, 1952 until present. She and her immediate family comprise the monarchy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the offspring of the largest empire of all time, the British Empire, which, at its peak, covered around a quarter of the world’s total land area. This goes to show how powerful the British monarchy has been since its institutionalization back in the 1000’s, thanks to the early Scottish kings and Kings of the Angles.

The British monarch entitled His or Her Majesty, cannot decide on his/her own. Her decisions should only reflect those either by statute, or by constitutional convention. Thus He/she has minimal direct power over the government because decisions also have to come from (Judicial) His/Her Majesty’s Judges which has judicial independence from the government, (Legislative) the Crown in Parliament composed of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, and (Executive) His/Her Majesty’s Government or Ministers comprised of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. HM Government has control over the HM Civil Service, Armed Forces of the Crown, the Diplomatic Service, Secret Service and many others. The monarch (queen or king) may only express his/her prerogatives at the weekly audience held to consult the minister. But ultimately, it is through the advice of the Minister, mainly the Prime minister or the Privy Council, through which Royal Prerogatives or decisions by the sovereign can be made. As said by Bagehot, “the Sovereign has, under a constitutional monarchy…three rights – the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn.”

The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, succeeded her father, George VI in 1952. The succession, like in any monarchy, is by blood. His/her heir immediately succeeds after his/her death. The proclamation though, done at the St. James’s Palace is the official start of the heir’s reign and ends only at death or by voluntary abdication through His Majesty’s Declaration of Abdication, a special Act of Parliament. The crowning ceremony, done as a tradition is done at the Westminister Abbey usually by the Archbishop of Canterbury is not a prerequisite of a sovereign to reign. In fact, it is usually done a few months or weeks after the predecessor’s death, to give leeway for mourning and preparations.

Thus, the powers of the monarch are indeed very limited – it has been historically and it is constitutionally. The British monarchy has been through so much in a very long period of time. As the result of what was the largest empire in the world, the Great British state is looked up to as one of the most ‘mature’ governing systems anywhere in the world. Basically, the British monarchy is characterized by its inheritance not just of succession, but of the Magna Carta, the constitution that started the reduction of the monarchs’ powers and authority. It’s current status may be a far cry from what it was in the past, which heavily affects how the state is today.

Spanish Monarchy

Spain is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and abicameral parliament, the Cortes Generales. The executive branchconsists of a Council of Ministers presided over by the President of Government (comparable to a prime minister), nominated and appointed by the monarch and confirmed by the Congress of Deputies following legislative elections. By political custom established by King Juan Carlos since the ratification of the 1978 Constitution, the king's nominees have all been from parties who maintain a plurality of seats in the Congress.

The Spanish Monarchy is institutionalized by the Spanish Constitution of 1978, which takes its roots from the Visigothic Kingdom which was later on significantly carried on by the Christian successor states. Despite the disputes between the Christian and Muslim controls of Spain, Isabella I of Castille and Ferdinand II of Aragon began a dynastic marriage that united Spain once and for all. In the timeline of Spain’s history, King Charles of Hadsburg also Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ruled during the Spanish Golden Age, but the succession of the Spanish Hadsbugrs was over when his heir, Charles II passed the monarchy to Philippe de Borbon, duke of Anjou. In the 18^th century were attempts to ‘unite’ Spain with France, but the only outcome was the Spanish War of Succession. But later on, the Spanish War of Succession gave birth to a couple of treaties that once led to a balance of power in Europe, with the House of Borbon member, Philip V ruling Spain. There were many events that sparked changes in the Spanish Monarchy, to name some are the Napoleonic Wars, which was said to be a period of decline for the Spanish rulers’ influence in Europe and the rest of the world, the Carlist Wars, which was a time for then Spanish monarch Isabella II depended heavily on armed and military forces which didn’t seem to be favorable to the government so then again led to the abdication of the monarch and the foundation of the First Spanish Republic, which was overthrown by a coup de etat for the Borbon to be reinstated and yet again be exiled. We could conclude that the historicity of Hispanic rule internally and externally is very dynamic. There were times when the rule of the Spanish monarchy were totally ignored such as the times after the Spanish Civil War when Fascism ruled, and also times when the Hispanic monarchy was well respected and uncontested.

In recent times however, the political climate becomes less complex. Juan Carlos I is the current monarch of Spain since 1981, but has not been very monopolistic of the influences to national matters and decisions. Unlike monarchs of other countries, the Spanish monarch merely oversees transitional developments in the government. According to Title II The Crown, Article 62 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978, here are the duties of the Spanish monarch;

§ a. To Sanction and promulgate the laws

§ b. To summon and dissolve the Cortes Generales and to call for elections under the terms provided for in the Constitution.

§ c. To Call for a referendum in the cases provided for in the Constitution.

§ e. To appoint and dismiss members of the Government on the President of the Government's proposal.

§ f. To issue the decrees approved in the Council of Ministers, to confer civil and military honours and distinctions in conformity with the law.

§ g. To be informed of the affairs of State and, for this purpose, to preside over the meetings of the Council of Ministers whenever, he sees fit, at the President of the Government's request.

§ h. To exercise supreme command of the Armed Forces

§ i. To exercise the right of clemency in accordance with the law, which may not authorize general pardons.

§ j. To exercise the High Patronage of the Royal Academies.

In essence, the government is still responsible for the decisions deterministic of the State. The constitution defines them and the President of the Government and the ministers of state comprise the country’s highest governing body. The most direct influence the monarch can create towards the state’s political climate is the nomination and appointment process of the President. But more than Spain, the King is also the president of the Ibero-American States comprised by most of countries from Central America and South America. Also, as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, the king holds the highest ranking office in the military chain of command. The king's ranks include Captain General of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. The king is the only officer in the military to hold this 5 Star General rank.

So far, the general Spanish populace widely supports the Spanish monarchy since its restoration. Members of the royal family are often asked to be part of charitable deeds and diplomatic representations.

The Comparison

Apparently, the highlights upon dissecting both monarchies were not parallel. This is mainly because the British monarchy is characterized more by its style, organization and mechanism, while the Spanish monarchy by its succession and development. This may probably be rooted to how young the Spanish monarchy relatively is. It may be at a stage that the British monarchy has undergone, which is defining precisely its permanent role in its nation, should this lead to an assumption that the British monarchy is already at a stage of more self-actualization and improvement, probably more of externally than internally.

.Both monarchies enjoy positive feedback from their respective fellowmen. There are actually very little discrepancies as to the functions of the monarch it each nation; they’re both very limited but well respected. The British monarchy reaches far more than the Spanish monarchy ever had, evident in the rule of the British Empire, its influences until today and the shear volume of avid supporters of the royal family. The Spanish monarchy however, though younger, underwent more dynamic than consistent successions.

Conclusion

When I was doing research for this paper, I also consulted some Political Science students also from the University of the Philippines, they would tell that monarchy couldn’t really have defined pro’s and con’s because it may be widely varied depending on the constitutionality, functions, and execution. And indeed it showed upon tremendous evidences of these two countries’ history with monarchy.

What does this imply to the Political Geography of Europe? Being the oldest systematic civilization today, Europe has a rich political history at its disposal while the rest of the world has a long way to go to learn what they have. The geographical state-to-state conditions of present-day Europe suggest a colorful history, but it is also very important to consider that such geographic features are very delicate. And indeed, history tells us that the spatial closeness proves hostile that it has to be worked with political closeness as well. Thanks to the geographic-political lessons learned, we may now be wary of possible political turbulences before they occur. Thanks also to those lgeographic-political lessons learned, that with extensive studies, one may conclude that the monarchies of Spain and the UK are both effective, well, right now at least.

Sources:

For the British Monarchy:

- Official website of the British Monarchy http://www.royal.gov.uk

- British Commonwealth Secretariat http://www.thecommonwealth.org

- Monarchy Canada http://www.monarchist.ca/mc/invisibl.htm

- UK Border Agency http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk

- BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk

For the Spanish Monarchy:

- Spanish TV http://www.expatica.com/es/news/

- The Royal Household of His Majest King (of Spain) http://www.casareal.es

- National Heritage Website http://www.patrimonionacional.es/

- Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas http://www.cis.es/cis/