Suffice to say I'm not a fan of the British Monarchy by any stretch of the imagination, but one particularly odious aspect of this outdated and wholly undemocratic government institution is the fact that it explicitly excludes Catholics from its ranks.
Indeed Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne, has had to give up his right to be the tenth in line to the British throne because of his decision to marry a Canadian Catholic, Autumn Kelly.
SDLP MP Alasdair McDonnell said that the continuation of the part of the Act of Settlement excluding members of the Catholic faith being admitted into the Royal family circle as full members, enshrined and underpinned “hidden elements of still virulent anti-Catholic bias within British society.”
“It is not acceptable in any modern society that any individual has to choose between giving up his or her heritage entitlement in order to marry the person of their choice.
“Perhaps the United Kingdom Government and the Royal family could look towards Northern Ireland and learn from the progress we have made as a society in trying to eradicate discrimination of all kinds.
“One dreads to think about the backlash if anybody in Northern Ireland was forced to give up their rights simply because they had the temerity to fall in love with somebody.
“I am afraid that the continuation of this archaic law has more to do with the protection of vested interests within the British establishment rather than developing a totally pluralist society.
“The kind of image portrayed by the latest chapter in the Royal family saga does absolutely nothing for the betterment of community or cultural relations.
“It is an insult to those of the Catholic faith who have once again had it rammed home that as far as certain sections of the British establishment are concerned they still rank as second class citizens.”
Dr. McDonnell said that after Parliament’s summer recess he intended to raise the issue with the Prime Minister.
“Catholics being relegated to the second tier of British society cannot be tolerated in the 21st century,” he added.
As far as I'm concerned, the problem of having to give up one's birthright due to religious considerations should not even be an issue because the whole idea of being born into royality and benefitting from all the trappings associated with it is totally anathema to the idea of democracy in the first place. The easy answer is to simply abolish the monarchy and set them to work like the rest of us to earn a living.
Of course, royalists may say that if we don't like the 'British' way of life, then we should leave the UK. Needless to say, that would suit me just fine.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
The British Monarchy: Institutionalised Discrimination
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5 comments:
To be honest, El Mat, this doesn't bother me in the slightest.
First of all, I don't see why the SDLP, as republicans and Irish nationalists are remotely interested in the British Monarchy.
Secondly, isn't the anti-Catholic bias fairly irrelevant compared to the anti-everyone-but-the-Windsors bias?
Reg-
I believe in democracy, and while we remain within the jurisdiction of the UK, then I think it's important to promote that concept as opposed to the continuing hereditary system of monarchy as head of state and head of a church. However, as I say, if they don't want us meddling in their affairs, I wouldn't complain if they cut us free ;)
On your second point, it is Catholics specifically who are barred from playing any role in the monarchy. I believe Catholics are also banned from becoming PM. Other religions are not affected.
" I believe Catholics are also banned from becoming PM."
I remember people saying this when there were rumours that Blair may convert. In fact there is no constitutional bar to a Catholic becoming PM or to convert once elected PM.
Totally agree with everything you've said though.
The monarchy does not run the show. They are the trappings of British history. If you want democracy or a republic, then why not make comments about or complain about the prime minister and parliament, the people that make the laws.
I don't think being tenth in line to the throne does an awful lot for you. Unless you're planning on some sort of Macbeth sequel.
I think Nepal is leading the way here, actually. Appropriate the palaces, use them as tourist attractions and boot the royals out into normal life. Nothing personal, just we have a country to run here and can't be dallying about.
Only problem: no more pretty pictures for the tabloids and broken dreams of teenage girls who want to marry into royalty. A big price to pay for better lawmaking? I think not.
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