"Military and Martial Plane" Author: Xia Chong Buyu Bing
On September 8, British time, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom passed away at the age of 96. The second hot search with the news of the Queen's death was that Prince Charles succeeded to the throne and became the King of England. According to the official account of the British royal family, the new king will be called "Charles III" and will return to London tomorrow.
In the past, when people talked about Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, they often used the word "super long standby" to describe the queen's longevity. Every time they said this, they would unconsciously tease the prince who had been in office in the world for the longest time - Charles .
For example, the famous saying "How can there be a prince in the world for 63 years!"
In everyone's impression, the title of "prince" will accompany Charles for the rest of his life, and some people even joke that the prince may go to the front of the queen. Maybe even the prince himself never thought that one day "Prince Charles" would become "Charles III".
▲Charles delivered a TV speech
When he was in middle school, Junwuju's history teacher often gave this example to describe the British constitutional monarchy . "Even if the parliament passed the proposal to send the king to the guillotine, the king had to sign and agree." The history textbook also said, "The king is the symbol of the country, and the prime minister is the head of the government." Therefore, in Junwu Jun's previous understanding, the status of the British king was equivalent to a large vase and a mascot. It was of no use except for the appearance of good looks. It was also Japan similar to the UK.
If you think so, then Junwuju should say it, it is not true. Although both Japan and Britain are constitutional monarchies, they have essential differences, and the British king is not just a mascot. In other words, if Prince Charles really wants to return to politics, it is theoretically OK.
" Magna Carta " which restricts the royal power
Friends who have studied the history of middle school should remember this sentence: "The " Bill of Rights " established the principle that the power of parliament is higher than that of the royal power, and marked the beginning of the establishment of the constitutional monarchy in the UK." But many people believe that the British restriction on the royal power earlier than the Bill of Power, and it is OK that the Magna Carta will be available in 1215. The birth of the Magna Carta,
, is related to the John , one of the most failed and unpopular kings in British history, known as the "landless king". John has two characteristics: one is that he loves to spend money and the other is that he loves to fight. In order to satisfy his desires, he kept levying taxes in the country and eventually got into a quarrel with the Pope. The Pope expelled John from the church together with Britain for six years. In 1215, a group of English nobles launched an uprising against John. The rebels occupied London. John was forced to sign a peace treaty, which was the Magna Carta.
▲John I
The Magna Carta consists of a preamble and 63 clauses, many of which are to protect the power of the nobles and the church from being violated by the king. The most important of these is Article 61, known as the "Security Law", which stipulates that the committee composed of twenty-five nobles has the right to hold meetings at any time, has the power to reject the king's orders, and can use force to occupy the king's castles and property.
▲Signed the Magna Carta
However, it should be noted that although John did not have a hair from top to bottom, he had to sign the document under force. And even if signed, the Magna Carta is just a peace treaty, not a legal provision, and has no legal significance. Therefore, just after the nobles left London and returned to their fiefs, John immediately announced the abolition of the Magna Carta, and the civil war broke out again.
A year later, John died of illness, nine-year-old Henry III ascended the throne, and the war ended. Later, Henry III deleted and revised the Magna Carta many times, and by 1225, only Article 37 was left.
Later, in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Magna Carta was rarely mentioned again. However, since it always has the effect of limiting the royal power, whenever the feudal aristocrats and the king had conflicts, they forced the king to re-enact the Magna Carta.
▲The Magna Carta manuscript located in Sobis, New York
. The Magna Carta truly has legal effect and was recognized by the bourgeois bourgeois during the British bourgeois revolution, but at this time the UK had already established a constitutional monarchy. In other words, although the Magna Carta is earlier than the Bill of Power, it can truly limit the royal power, but after the Bill of Rights.
The Bill of Power and Constitutional Monarchy
Time came to 1688. In this year, the British bourgeoisie and new nobles launched a non-violent coup to overthrow the rule of James II and prevent the restoration of the Catholic Church. Since there was no bloody conflict in this revolution, it was later called " Glorious Revolution ".
The following year, The British Parliament passed the Bill of Rights that restricts the royal power. The full name of the Bill of Rights is the Declaration on Civil Rights and Freedoms and the Succession of the Throne. There are not many contents, only thirteen articles, which mainly talk about two aspects: one restricts the king's power, and the other is to protect the power of the parliament.
Maybe everyone does not realize that neither the Magna Carta nor the Bill of Rights are restricting the royal power, rather than depriving the royal power. If it is not deprived, it means that the king still has power, but the king is just under the law.
▲The Bill of Rights manuscript
Therefore, even if it is a document as meaningful as the Bill of Rights in human history, it only "laid the constitutional foundation for the king's rule but not rule, and the state's power gradually shifted from the monarch to the parliament." The meaning of this sentence is very clear, that is, there is still a process from the Bill of Rights to the constitutional monarchy, and this process is really related to the ancestors of the Queen's family.
1714, the last king of the British Stuart dynasty , Anne I, died. In order to prevent the Catholics from occupying a dominant position in Britain, the British invited descendants of female royal members of the Stuart dynasty, Hannover Elector George I to inherit the throne in Britain, ending the rule of the Stuart dynasty for more than 100 years, and starting Hannover dynasty .
However, George I was born in Germany, and the most troublesome thing that caused him to be the king of England was English. He himself cannot speak English well or understand English. Sometimes ministers talked a lot at the meeting, and George I might have only a few words left in his ears. Later, George I simply did not even attend the meeting, and the real power was in the hands of the then British Prime Minister Robert.
▲ Robert Walpole
In this way, the parliament replaced the royal power bit by bit and became the master of the country. Although George III, later, although he could speak English, this old man had been insane from time to time since 1811 and could not control the country once he became ill. The eldest son, George IV, handled the government affairs on his behalf. George IV was immersed in the luxurious life, and he was full of mind every day. He kept himself at the forefront of the trend of the times and ignored the government affairs even more. Most of the time he was the Prime Minister , Liverpool , who was the one who took care of himself.
This situation continued until the last monarch of the Hanover dynasty Queen Victoria era. After Queen Victoria passed away, Britain entered the Coburg-Windsor dynasty. This habit was also preserved, forming a situation where the king ruled but did not rule today.
Therefore, although Britain is a constitutional monarchy, there is actually no legal provision that deprives the king of power, which is also the biggest difference between Britain and Japan. Japan's current constitution is the " Peace Constitution " implemented in 1947. The first article of the first chapter is "The Emperor is the symbol of Japanese , a symbol of the whole Japanese nationality, and its status is based on the will of all Japanese citizens where sovereignty lies."
In other words, Japanese Emperor can only play "pure ritual role" is a legal provision, and the British king and parliament are just a tacit understanding reached based on habits. What is the power of the king of
?
So to this day, what power does the British king still have?
Although the British royal family has become synonymous with mascots in people's impression, from a legal perspective, the royal family still has some powers, such as the right to warn. If other countries infringe upon British sovereignty, the king or other members of the royal family can warn it; declare war power , when necessary, the king, as the supreme commander of the three armies, can declare war on him; although the British prime minister is elected, the final position requires the consent of the queen. If the queen is very dissatisfied with a certain prime minister, she also has the right to remove him; if the British veto power, any law that the British passes requires the approval of the queen. Similarly, if the queen is not satisfied with a certain law, she can have the right to veto him.
For example, after the "Glorious Revolution", the successor to the King of England, William III, , had exercised five veto power to veto the proposals of the parliament. The last time I exercised was Queen Anne veto the "Scottish Militia Law", which was also the last king exercised his veto power in British history.
▲William III
There is no need to be said to be two different concepts, that is, even if a British monarch under the constitutional system is determined to argue with the parliament, there is a law to follow.
Fortunately, there has not been such a person in the UK who is so generous. For example, Queen Elizabeth II, who just passed away, is the longest-reigning monarch in British history. During her reign, she has changed 15 prime ministers. From the Cold War to the New Coronavirus , almost all major events in modern history have been experienced, especially after World War II , Britain's international status has declined, and many things have happened internally and externally. Logically speaking, even if her country does not take power, it is appropriate to give some constructive opinions. However, no matter how big it is, she respects the decision of the parliament. Even if it is a major event like "Brexit", which is "related to the life and death of the UK", the queen did not agree and said, "Okay, I can do it."
▲The Queen's signature document
The Queen's restraint on power reflects the respect of the political order formed by political orders formed by politicians and generations of monarchs since the 18th century, since Robert Walpole became the first prime minister, through the practice of political orders formed by politicians and generations of monarchs through consensus and habits.
It is precisely because of this that the British royal family can be passed down for a hundred years, and Her Majesty the Queen can enjoy a high reputation in its own country and the world. From the emergence of civilization by human beings to the 21st century, the kings that have passed through history are like stars in the sky, and countless dynasties have been overthrown. However, there are very few who want the British royal family to voluntarily give up their royal power.
Different roads
Currently, the world still retains monarchy countries. In addition to the United Kingdom and Japan, there are 27 countries, of which 14 countries implement constitutional monarchy. Most of these countries are located in Europe and belong to the more traditional monarchy . In addition, there are a few who retain the "beautiful tradition" of monarchy, such as Swaziland , Saudi Arabia , Vatican , Qatar , Oman , Brunei , and these six are still in the "autocratic" era.
There is also a distinctive monarchy, that is, the "binary constitutional monarchy system". Germany and Japan once adopted this special system. The reason why it is special is that although the dual constitutional monarchy also has a parliamentary and cabinet prime minister, the power is concentrated in the hands of the monarch. The monarch enjoys the ultimate decision-making power. Both the parliament and the prime minister must be responsible to the king, and the constitution must also reflect the will of the king or the royal family. In other words, the king is the head of state who holds real power, but he doesn't have to deal with everything himself. Where can I find this good thing?
There are currently 8 countries in the world that implement a binary constitutional monarchy, namely Monaco , Morocco , Thailand, Liechtenstein , Kuwait , Jordan , Bahrain , Tonga . Among them, the King of Thailand also controls the national army, and the saying that the power comes from the barrel of a gun is considered to be thorough.
London Bridge is Down
In 2017, the British BBC TV station filmed a drama film called "Charles III", fantasizing about The Queen of England will die one day. What will happen to the UK? Now it is a God's prophecy.
▲ Stills of "Charles III"
In the UK, every monarch will have a special code when he dies, such as George VI is "a corner of Hyde Park ", and Elizabeth II is "The collapse of the London Bridge". In fact, the UK has been preparing for the Queen's funeral for 60 years, but the process and details of the funeral will be continuously adjusted according to the actual situation.
Now with the collapse of the London Bridge, an era belonging to Elizabeth II has ended, a special era belonging to Britain has ended, and an era belonging to the monarch is slowly coming to an end. Queen Elizabeth is a very traditional European monarch. Her growth and life experience follow the traditions of the royal family for hundreds of years. She received education at home since childhood. She married Prince Philip at the age of 21, gave birth to Charles at the age of 22, and then attended various etiquette activities, etc. Basically, she followed the rules of the royal family and was a life that could be seen at a glance.
▲The young queen and Charles
But this has not been the case since her son Charles. Charles is different from the queen. He was not a family education in the palace when he was a child, and he was sent to a boarding school. He was the first prince to not have been educated at home and the first prince to obtain a university degree. And as people's respect for the royal family gradually faded, he was also the first prince to grow up under the increasing attention of the media, which is why Charles and the queen have completely different personalities.
▲The Queen held a crown for Charles ceremony
The Queen has remained neutral with politics all her life, while Charles often delivered speeches and wrote articles on topics about climate change, green energy and alternative medicine, etc. The royal family members are concerned about politics and have committed British taboos, because in the hearts of the British, you can show your face if you have something to do and just be free.
Therefore, you will see that the British love for the queen is not reflected in Charles at all, and even triggered "his ascending the throne may trigger debates about the future of Britain's basically a ritual monarchy". Some people think it is a symbol of national unity, others think it is an outdated remains of feudal history, and some even suggest that Prince William should be directly ascended to the throne.
Will Charles be loved by the people? This question accompanied him for the first half of his life and would continue to accompany him for the second half of his life.
Finally, Junwuju also thought of a cold knowledge about Queen Elizabeth, which is the Elizabeth melon we can buy now.This melon was named after the queen of Queen Elizabeth's visit to Japan in 1975. Japanese agronomists named a kind of yellow-skinned and white-skinned melon that they had cultivated back then after the queen. In the 1980s, the Central Plains Melon Research Institute in Zhengzhou, my country introduced the Japanese Elizabeth melon, and from then on, Chinese people can also eat this melon.
