Monarchy, Magic and Democracy

Monarchy, Magic and Democracy

Author: A.J. Olechnowicz

Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Published: 2013-10-03

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9781441142085

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The monarchy has remained important in British public life long after monarchs ceased to govern as well as to reign. Until the 1980s academic historians largely ignored the monarchy as an object of research but the decisive change came with David Cannadine's celebrated work on the monarchy's 'invention of tradition', and since then the subject has prospered. This volume examines the monarchy's role in the political, religious and social life of the nation from the accession of Victoria in 1837 to Elizabeth II: why has it been extremely popular with its subjects for most of this period? Does the monarchy continue to be invested with 'magical' qualities - not only by the people but also by royalty itself? It presents and critically examines the existing monographic literature; advances current perspectives by the presentation of new research; proposes and develops new perspectives on the basis of new archival and other research; and explores these themes not over the course of a single reign but over the period 1837 to the present day.


The British Monarchy

The British Monarchy

Author: Nicole Horning

Publisher: Greenhaven Publishing LLC

Published: 2019-07-15

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13: 1534567828

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The British monarchy has long been a subject of fascination for many people. Television shows and films have been created to tell the history of influential, long-reigning monarchs such as Queen Elizabeth II, and royal weddings are televised worldwide. This engaging look at British history examines past and present monarchs, how marriages such as the one between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle broke tradition, and the controversy over whether or not Britain needs a monarchy. Through sidebars, annotated quotations, maps, and full-color photographs, readers will gain a deeper understanding of this popular historical topic.


The British Monarchy and the French Revolution

The British Monarchy and the French Revolution

Author: Marilyn Morris

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 1998-01-01

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 9780300071443

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What prevented revolution in Britain during the French revolutionary era? How did George III's monarchy withstand republican challenges? This book examines the British monarchy -- and the values, beliefs, and images attached to it -- during the contentious decade of the 1790s. Through a wide-ranging exploration of loyalist and reform propaganda, newspapers, political caricatures, sermons, and records of prosecution for sedition and treason, Marilyn Morris arrives at a new perspective on the forces of social stability in Britain that prevented revolution and preserved the Crown. Morris reassesses the significance of the ideological exchange in Britain during the French revolutionary period, showing that the so-called failure of the reform movement did not result simply from a stubborn disregard for the reality of the situations in France and Britain. She considers the problems created for reformers by the government's exaggeration of the threat to the monarchy, as well as the influence that reformist arguments had on loyalist ideology. The monarchy, though tradition-bound, continually had to reinvent itself, Morris contends, and its modern incarnation emerged in the later years of George's reign with a style stressing personality, empathy, and domesticity, and a legitimacy based on the monarchy's embodiment of the nation's history. Morris's analysis of the monarchy's image and its incorporation into political argument during a time of upheaval provides new insight into the ways different institutions of the state protected and supported one another. Her discussion also places in perspective speculation about the imminent demise of the monarchy in the 1990s. "Morris engages directlyand intelligently with other historians in the field. She makes a significant contribution to the history of English monarchy". -- Paul Monod, Middlebury College


(Un)Making the Monarchy

(Un)Making the Monarchy

Author: Anette Pankratz

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2017-07-12

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 382536786X

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‘(Un)Making the Monarchy’ offers a kaleidoscopic view on the British monarchy – an institution that today seems integral, almost inevitable, to the British political system and the very texture of Britishness/Englishness. The contributions in this volume seek to historicise, contextualise, and politicise such dominant myths of the monarchy. They look at the strategies through which monarchical power has been legitimised and naturalised in the texts and practices of (not only) British culture and at the way in which the monarchy has, in turn, been used to legitimise and naturalise other hegemonic structures in society. They also engage with the forms and practices that have sought to contest and subvert monarchical power. Contributors thus tackle the psychological, performative, and political dimensions of monarchical reign, examine supportive as well as critical, satirical, and anti-monarchist representations in literature, theatre, the media, and deal with some of the monarchy’s self-representations through public relations, fashion, and language.


Crown & Sceptre

Crown & Sceptre

Author: Tracy Borman

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Published: 2021-11-18

Total Pages: 719

ISBN-13: 1529339510

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A stunning tour de force and a remarkable achievement.- Alison Weir This is Our Island Story for the modern age. - Charles Spencer 'Not just a brilliant compendium of biographies, but the biography of an institution: a marvellous read' - Tom Holland 'This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle' (William Shakespeare, Richard II) With 1000 years of royal history from 1066 to the present day, Domesday Book to Magna Carta the Field of Cloth of Gold to King Charles' accession, Crown & Sceptre is an unparalleled exploration of the British monarchy. From Sunday Times bestselling author and joint Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces Tracy Borman, comes a fresh, engaging and authoritative account of the crown's tumultuous history - including a chapter on King Charles III. Impeccably researched, Crown & Sceptre explores in gripping detail how this iconic institution has survived the storms of rebellion, revolution and war that brought most of the world's other monarchies to an abrupt and bloody end. It is a story of ruthless dynastic battles, political and social leadership, usurpation and abdication, all set against a backdrop of dazzling ceremony and pageantry. "Crown and Sceptre shows an astonishing command of a thousand years of the British monarchy, its traditions, roles and realities beyond the pageantry and romance. Beautifully crafted, insightful, and a genuine pleasure to read, it underscores the royal heritage at the heart of a nation." - Lauren Mackay "Crown and Sceptre" combines an eminently accessible narrative with a lucid scholarly lens. Tracy Borman skilfully unravels the trials and triumphs of this ever-shifting institution. By charting both the majesty and mechanics of monarchy, we get a vivid understanding of why its glittering gears shifted over time, and by whom the levers of change were pulled. A triumph.' - Owen Emmerson, Curator at Hever Castle 'Tracy Borman's passion for the British monarch and the crown is infectious and compelling!' - Estelle Paranque 'Borman embraces a huge task' - Gerard DeGroot, The Times Enlightening, gripping and skilfully composed, Tracy Borman navigates the twists and turns of the British monarchy with an expert hand. A pacy narrative that's simply bursting with colour and intrigue, Crown and Sceptre is both powerful and compulsively readable. A masterpiece. - Nicola Tallis


Dignified & Efficient

Dignified & Efficient

Author: Charles Douglas-Home

Publisher:

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13:

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In a series of moving portraits of the monarchs and their advisors, Charles Douglas-Home and Saul Kelly examine the tasks with which recent crowned heads have been troubled, and the virtues that enabled them, by and large, to act for the common good. Incisive, evocative and informed by a magisterial vision of the scope of political power, this work offers a persuasive answer to the critics of monarchy, and an account of a unique form of government that will give confidence and inspiration to the British people, as they enter a new century of shifting powers and uncertain prospects.


The British monarchy on screen

The British monarchy on screen

Author: Mandy Merck

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2016-02-28

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 152611304X

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This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. Moving images of the British monarchy are almost as old as the moving image itself, dating back to an 1895 American drama, The Execution of Mary Queen of Scots. And from 1896, actual British monarchs appeared in the new 'animated photography', led by Queen Victoria. Half a century later the 1953 coronation of Elizabeth II was a milestone in the adoption of television, watched by 20 million Britons and 100 million North Americans. At the century's end, Princess Diana's funeral was viewed by 2.5 billion worldwide. In the first book length examination of film and television representations of this enduring institution, distinguished scholars of media and political history analyze the screen representations of royalty from Henry VIII to 'William and Kate'. Seventeen essays by Ian Christie, Elisabeth Bronfen, Andrew Higson, Karen Lury, Glynn Davies, Jane Landman and other international commentators examine the portrayal of royalty in the 'actuality' picture, the early extended feature, amateur cinema, the movie melodrama, the Commonwealth documentary, New Queer Cinema, TV current affairs, the big screen ceremonial and the post-historical boxed set. A long overdue contribution to film and television studies, this book will be essential reading for scholars and students of British media and political history.