British Royals In Yet Another National Crisis

Invoking special rights is a favorite sport of royals everywhere. Color me amused now that the shoe is, for once, on the other foot:

Peter Phillips, the [British] Queen's eldest grandson and 10th in line to the throne, might have to surrender his place in the succession. Mr Phillips, 29, the son of the Princess Royal, is now engaged to Autumn Kelly, 31, a Canadian management consultant who was baptised a Catholic. The fact was not mentioned in the Buckingham Palace announcement of the engagement last week. But in a never-repealed provision of the 1701 Act of Settlement, which enshrined the Protestant ascendancy, British monarchs and their heirs are forbidden to become or even marry Catholics.

So Phillips is 10th in line (he is roughly as likely to ascend the throne as I am), despite which prime minister Gordon Brown seems to regard the situation as a most urgent and bedeviling matter of state.

It's inevitable, I guess. In a monarchy, a country's highest elected officials have to waste their time again and again trying to sort out the kooky affairs of idiotically over-privileged and highly dysfunctional palace dwellers. This alone ought to be reason enough to retire the infantile charade of actual adults playing king and queen once and for all. If equality is not a persuasive argument, maybe efficiency could be. With an eye on using their resources wisely, perhaps Britons will one day decide to form a grown-up republic, rather than masochistically clinging to their country's status as a constitutional basket case and an archaic laughing stock.

On the plus side, that quoted passage, with its sundry absurdities, is just brimming with Brit sitcom (Britcom?) possibilities that John Cleese or Rowan Atkinson could no doubt spin into comedy gold.

Comments

[Jeff the Poustman]

On the flip side good for Phillips at not failing to follow the Edwardian example and abandon monarchical ambitions for love.... Hm. No matter how you try it's hard to even compliment these folks.

[Phil Nelson]

John Cleese or Rowan Atkinson? Be a little more behind the times, will you? I kid.

Seriously, though, at least get some Little Britain in your life.