Consider This from NPR - Jubilee Jubilation for a Troubled Monarchy

Episode Date: June 3, 2022

The UK is celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's 70 years on the throne with four days of pomp and tribute. But, as the nation thanks its queen for seven decades of service, there are questions about what the monarchy will look like after she's gone. NPR's Frank Langfitt takes a look at a royal family at a crossroads. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.Email us at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When you celebrate 70 years on the throne, you have to start with a parade. Britain's four-day Platinum Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth kicked off on Thursday with a birthday parade. 1,400 soldiers decked out in their finest red tunics marched in precision drills for their queen. After the parade came the 82-gun salute. And really the only thing that can top an 82-gun salute is a 70-plane flyby. Some of the Royal Air Force jets flew in formation to create the number 70 as a smiling Queen Elizabeth, surrounded by most of her royal family, looked on from her balcony at Buckingham Palace. Friday, thousands crowded around St. Paul's Cathedral

to catch a glimpse of the royal family as they arrived to attend services. People wore the Union Jack in just about every form imaginable. Anne Middleton is from Wales. So we've had dresses made as well for tomorrow with a combination of the Welsh Dragon and the Union Jack. We've bought t-shirts, we've got earrings, we've got socks. The royal family has had its ups and downs with its public over the last 70 years, but Maximilian Somerset says the fact that Queen Elizabeth has been on the throne for so long is good for the country. I think they represent that consistency, that no matter what happens in the family, they pull together, they continue to represent consistency. And in an ever-changing world that

we live in now, I think that that consistency is foundational for our society and we look to that. While Britons celebrate 70 years of consistency, they are also uneasily looking towards a very near future without their queen. Her health has been declining. She even missed some jubilee events on Friday. Support for the monarchy has been falling. More and more young people, like 21-year-old Emma MacDonald, would like to see the monarchy has been falling. More and more young people, like 21-year-old Emma MacDonald, would like to see the monarchy go away entirely. I don't mind the Queen as a person or any of them individually, but I think as a concept, as an institution, I don't really agree with it.

Consider this. After enduring for centuries, will the British monarchy continue? And should it? From NPR, I'm Ari Shapiro. It's Friday, June 3rd. It's Consider This from NPR. The four-day celebration for Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee has already been overstuffed with pageantry, tributes, and many, many renditions of God Save the Queen, the British national anthem. In 1977, people were singing a very different song of the same name, and it was no tribute. The seminal British punk band the Sex Pistols was already the stuff of parents' nightmares by the time Queen Elizabeth was celebrating her silver jubilee after

25 years on the throne. Then lead singer Johnny Rotten shared his thoughts about the monarchy. The Sex Pistols debuted their own version of God Save the Queen with a riverboat performance on the Thames and, just as it was supposed to, the song outraged royal supporters. Band members were attacked in the street. God Save the Queen was banned from radio and TV airplay, yet despite the backlash, it still reached number two on the British charts. In the end, the Queen had the last laugh. She's still here, and the Sex Pistols lasted barely a year longer, breaking up in 1978. And 45 years will soften anyone, even lead singer Johnny Rotten.

This week on Sky News Australia, Rotten said he's a fan of Queen Elizabeth. She ain't no human being as representing a state. She doesn't represent me. I don't want to pay no more tax to keep that institution alive. But I totally respect her as a real person, that she's endured that and maintained, yes, a sense of dignity. And I'm always attracted to pageantry. That theme of respect for the Queen, skepticism of the monarchy has been a consistent one this week. Once the queen that so many love is no longer on the throne, what does that mean for the monarchy?

NPR's Frank Langfitt has the story. Queen Elizabeth is 96 years old. Starting with Winston Churchill, she's worked with 14 prime ministers and has served longer than any other British monarch, including her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. Britons such as David Allwood, he's a craftsman who lives outside of London, says the Queen has set the standard for behavior and duty in this country for the past seven decades. Her original speech when she was becoming Queen, and she pledged herself to the country and the people. And really, that is what she's done. And the queen is definitely, as far as I'm concerned,

best thing this country has ever had. Many here also value the queen for being steadfast and dependable. David McClure is the author of the book, The Queen's True Worth. It's a sense that, you know, heads of government come and go, but the monarchy's been surviving for a thousand years, so it gives an important sense of continuity and stability. I think history, regard her as one of the most successful monarchs of all time. The Queen celebrated her last jubilee, her diamond, back in 2012. Elton John, one of the headliners for the Jubilee concert back then, made a nod to her longevity. But a lot has changed in recent years as new turmoil and scandals have enveloped the royals. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle say they are stepping back as senior members of the British

royal family. Queen Elizabeth's younger son, Prince Andrew, is settling a sexual assault lawsuit. It was brought against him by one of the victims of Jeffrey Epstein. And since last fall, the Queen's health has declined. In October, she began walking with the help of a cane and has appeared far less frequently in public. Prince Charles will officially open the new session of Parliament today and, for the first time, will read the Queen's speech on her behalf. It's after she had to pull out because of mobility problems.

In fact, the Queen no longer lives in Buckingham Palace. She's moved permanently to Windsor Castle, her weekend home outside of London. All of this has people here thinking about what might happen to the monarchy after the Queen eventually leaves the stage. Max Hastings is a former editor of Britain's The Daily Telegraph and The Evening Standard. Many millions of people who have enormous respect and affection for the Queen, who has been on the throne since before they were born, but they're much less committed to the institution of monarchy.

And I suspect that we may discover that the monarchy in Britain is a more fragile institution than it seemed for all these years that Queen Elizabeth has been on the throne. About 80% of Britons view the Queen positively, according to a poll in May by YouGov, the British market research firm. A smaller majority, 60%, back the monarchy. But that support steadily drops with age. The slight majority of people between 18 and 24 actually would like to see the institution go. Among them is Emma MacDonald. She's 21 and lives in Reading, about two hours' drive west of London.

We're standing in front of a billboard, which I asked MacDonald to read. It says, make Elizabeth the last. Hashtag abolish the monarchy. The billboard is red and has photos of Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Andrew. But someone has torn away Andrew's face. This is among a dozen billboards that Republic, an anti-monarchy group, paid to have put up around the United Kingdom in advance of this week's festivities. McDonald says she pretty much agrees with the message. I don't mind the Queen as a person or any of them individually, but I think as a concept, as an institution,

I don't really agree with it. I think probably it is time. To me, it seems like a bit of an unfair way for the country to be set up, and I think, obviously, it's very entrenched in the country. It will be, obviously, a huge change. Do you notice a generational difference? Yeah, there definitely is, for sure.

I think if you asked my grandparents the same question, they would be completely, like, they would definitely disagree with me. They would definitely, I think they've just grown up with the monarchy being a big thing, and maybe they're a little bit more patriotic, whereas to me, I don't really feel a lot of connection to the monarchy or the queen. Another challenge the monarchy faces is succession.

Prince Charles does not enjoy anywhere near his mother's popularity. Only 54% of people have a positive impression of him, according to YouGov. Prince Charles, in my opinion, is weak. This is Lola Crasser. She's retired and used to work as a social coordinator at a residential care facility. Like many Britons, Crasser blames Charles for the failure of his marriage to Princess Diana, which ended in 1996. It still frames the way Crasser sees him. It goes back to Diana. I lost respect for him through carrying on that affair while he was still married and so public as well. Crasser is referring to Charles' long-running affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles, who was also married at the time.

After their divorces, the two married in 2005. A YouGov poll last month showed that just 34% of people want Prince Charles to become king, while 37% would prefer his son, Prince William, ascend the throne. That's what Crasser wants. He presents himself as a very serious young man. He follows the principles of the queen and also what the people want. And Kate, as his partner, is a good example.

Prince William is 39, almost three and a half decades younger than his father. But there's no sign Charles plans to abdicate. And some say, after so many years in the wings, he no sign Charles plans to abdicate. And some say, after so many years in the wings, he's more than prepared to do the job. Dominic Grieve served as a member of the British Parliament for more than two decades and as Attorney General for England and Wales. I think he's going to make an excellent king. I think the evidence of that is overwhelming. He's a man who is assiduous in trying to promote the public interest, has a wide range of charities,

and he's very widely travelled, he's very knowledgeable, and he's a very kind man. As for the Queen, over the next few days, the public will celebrate her longevity and her ability to guide an anachronistic institution through many challenges in a changing world. Robert Lacey is a royal historian. The Queen's greatest legacy will be to hand on through many challenges in a changing world. Robert Lacey is a royal historian.

The Queen's greatest legacy will be to hand on pretty well-working monarchy to her successor. And as Lacey puts it, just to survive as a monarchy in the modern world is in itself an achievement. That was NPR's Frank Langfitt. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Ari Shapiro.