It has been half a year since Queen Elizabeth II’s death. As the drama and mourning come to a stop, another argument resurfaces: should the royals stay? 

The royal family is quite popular with the public; overwhelmingly popular, in fact. Around 65% of the British population support the royals’ stay and view them as very important for UK society — the remaining 35%, however, do not view the monarchy as important (PBS Newshour). These statistics show an overwhelming difference in the argument; a great majority of the population wishes for the monarchy to stay. If the public wants the monarchy to remain, it is natural to comply with their wishes. Simply having supporters, however, does not justify the continuation of the monarchy. The monarchy lives off of the support of their followers, and although it is true that the monarchy is popular with the public, for what good reason? Many people reason that the monarchy is an important cornerstone of British culture and heritage; however, for what reason do we hold them in such high prestige? The British monarchy has been in power for well over a millenia and has built up an impressive yet also infamous history. The royals have a history predominantly full of undeserved privilege and extreme inequality. The members of the royal family get to live lavishly because of the unfair status their ancestors held while doing almost nothing to be worthy of it. They are born into high positions and they are loved for it; this is the textbook definition of unfairness. Many citizens seem to have forgotten this fact as they idolize the royal family like celebrities. 

Furthermore, it should be noted that evidently the royal family is actually losing supporters, not gaining them. From 2015 to 2021, the percentage of British citizens that viewed the monarchy as very important continually decreased from 40% to 31%; those who viewed the monarchy as unimportant and supported their leave increased from 13% to 25% (PBS Newshour). Although around ~45% are impartial towards the subject, much can change following the queen’s death. The queen has built up a legacy as one of Britain’s longest ruling monarchs and her prestige is now gone. Not only will citizens be uncomfortable with a brand new monarch, the younger generation may not be able to build up a connection with the monarchy, unlike their parents or grandparents. With the rising number of citizens who support the abolition of the monarchy, it is only a matter of time before the monarchy disappears. Abolition approaches institutions that cannot maintain their supporters; the royals are no exception.

* image from freesvg.org (Public Domain)