I don't for any one minute diminish the qualities of many figures like Michael Higgins or Mary McElhees. But all I can say is that they do not unite the nation in the way that the monarchy does. The monarchy has a very important negative power, blocking power if you like which is it because the king and previously the queen is head of the armed forces - nobody else can be. These are things that we sort of take for granted but to have this sort of, does it work? It counts for continuity, it counts for permanence. There is not having a number of very common phalluses he says.
On this episode of the Sunday Debate we’re going to explore an issue that is timely, yet draws on debates at the heart of British politics and identity for centuries; should King Charles III should be the last British monarch? And where would the UK be without its Royal Family? Speaking for the motion is Graham Smith, CEO of Republic, a British organisation campaigning for the abolition of the monarchy - and author of Abolish the Monarchy: Why we should and how we will. And speaking against the motion is Robert Hardman, journalist, author, and royal commentator - Hardman has penned numerous books on the Royal Family, his most recent being 2022’s Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II. Moderating this debate is broadcaster and academic Philippa Thomas.
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