Britain and Nepal: Tale of Two Monarchies

While an opinion poll in Britain shows that 80 per cent of citizens want the monarchy to continue in their country, Nepal’s parliament voted Friday in favor of abolishing the centuries-old monarchy and turning this Himalayan nation into a republic.

The BBC reports: “Some 78% of respondents agreed that Britain should still have a royal family and 19% disagreed. The Gfk NOP survey of 1,000 people aged 16 and over was commissioned by historian Prof Peter Hennessy, guest editor of Radio 4’s Today programme. When asked if there will be a monarchy in 30 years’ time, 80% said yes and 15% said no.

The Reuters reports: “Britons favour Prince William over his father Charles as their next monarch, with widespread approval for William’s girlfriend boosting his ratings, a poll shows.”

While in Nepal more than two-thirds of parliament voted in favor of amending an interim constitution to end the monarchy after an agreement by the main political parties was reached earlier this week, said Speaker Subash Nembwang, reports IHT.

The developments in the two countries indicate that Britain still favours tradition and continuity in the fast changing world, while the small Himalayan country sees no utility in having a monarch at the helm even as a mere symbol to hold Nepal together.

Since 1800, most of the world’s monarchies have been abolished by dismemberment or annexation, or have been transformed into republics; most current countries that are monarchies are constitutional ones. Among the few states that retain a rather absolute monarchy are Bhutan, Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland and the Vatican City (the papal city-state, an electoral theocracy). In Jordan and Morocco, the monarch also retains considerable power. There are also recent (2003) developments in Liechtenstein, wherein the regnant prince was given the constitutional power to dismiss the government at will. More here…