As your leader argues (27 December), the platinum jubilee will not only celebrate the Queen’s long reign but also start to raise questions about the next one.
After accession, the new sovereign has to make three statutory oaths: to be a true and faithful Protestant; to uphold the Church of Scotland; and to uphold the rights and privileges of the Church of England. In our more secular and pluralist society, these oaths need to be revised and updated. But revision would require fresh legislation, which needs to be passed during the present reign to be in time for the next accession.
Parliament could consider this, as your leader suggests, along with other royal matters, perhaps in a joint committee of both houses. We suggested possible revisions of the oaths in 2018. And our 2020 book about the other European monarchies – The Role of Monarchy in Modern Democracy – offers comparative lessons on what to expect of a modern monarchy.
Prof Robert Hazell and Dr Bob Morris
The Constitution Unit, University College London
• Your leader put forward a useful proposal regarding reform of the monarchy. But we know that under the present government (or indeed under a future Labour government) there is zero chance of such reforms. The best hope for reform of the feudal monarchy, under which we are all subjects, rather than citizens, is for Charles III to be as disastrous a king as his namesake ancestor 400 years ago. Then, perhaps, parliament will take control. One lives in hope.
Mark Flinn
Chester
• The only way to modernise the monarchy is to turn the country into a republic.
Peggy Thomas
Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire
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