Time For Brits To Settle The Monarchy Issue. Once And For All

Time For Brits To Settle The Monarchy Issue. Once And For All
If Piers Morgan cares as much about the Royal Family as he claims, he would do better to make a detailed case arguing that Randy Andy be handed over the FBI.

Prince Philip is no more. Long live the Queen! It truly is the end of an era. Not least because the Duke of Edinburgh had been Britain’s longest-serving royal consort. His passing also serves as an untimely reminder of the mortality of the monarch herself.

For many, including British journalist and professional Meghan detractor, Piers Morgan, it was a time for Queen and country to stand as one. What rotten luck, then, that those pesky Beeb viewers veered off-script and hit the national broadcaster with a barrage of complaints. Apparently, coverage of the royal death was a tad excessive. Damn Brexit! What was the point of crashing out of the EU if not to whip up popular nationalist frenzy? But then as everyone and their cat suddenly remembered — Prince Philip had been an immigrant to Britain’s green and unpleasant land. At least the Duchess of Sussex is staying away from the funeral, reportedly fearing intense media attention. Piers ought to be well chuffed. And no doubt, he won’t be backwards in coming forwards in saying how he really feels. Just like, back at the beginning of March, when he dramatically stormed off the Good Morning Britain set; huffing and puffing and failing to blow the house down. But not before dismissing out of paw the so-called bombshell revelations dropped during the Oprah interview. Admittedly, there was good reason to quibble over claims that the Sussexes had a private wedding ceremony officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the days before their big day that cost some £32 million to the British tax payer.

Yet where Piers overstepped the mark was in gaslighting the Duchess and other women of colour by refusing to accept that she had been on the receiving end of racist comments; causal or otherwise. He even went as far as to suggest that there was no difference between speculation over the potential darkness of baby Archie’s skin and asking about the colour of a newborn’s hair. Then came the absurdity of Britain’s most (in)famous journalist demanding that Meghan and Prince Harry do his job for him and name and shame the royal who delivered the insensitive comment.

If Morgan cares as much about the Royal Family as he claims, he would do better to make a detailed case arguing that Randy Andy be handed over the FBI to answer serious allegations related to sex trafficking and paedophilia. This is what public interest journalism looks like. Not the trolling of a prominent figure for ratings. Yet as things stand, Piers is guilty of fuelling a sensationalist agenda that the British tabloid press routinely laps up like real dairy cream. For where the Royal Family once claimed to earn its keep by luring in the tourists — it now keeps the gutter press awash in bread and butter. Resulting in Dick Whittington and the Fat Cats of Capitalism being unceremoniously placed among the lowly pigeons; scrabbling around the streets of London trying to pickpocket loose change where plutocratic gold once lay.

The one area in which Piers’ contempt for Meghan threatens to see him come undone is his staunch defence of the Queen against accusations of racism that were never levelled against her. For, bluntly put, the British monarchy has its roots in inherited privilege. While project Empire subjugated entire peoples and plundered their lands of both natural resources and artefacts for its own profit. Without apology. Only David Cameron offered half-hearted regret for British colonialism. Yet even here, this was simply dealt as a well-played get-out-jail card to avoid mediating in the Kashmir conflict.

Still, it doesn’t look as if these palace intrigues have done the Royal Family too much damage. Sadly. Just last month, a nationwide survey found that some 63 percent of the British public support the monarchy. So much for the narrative pushed by the likes of Morgan that Meghan Markle has jeopardised the future of those who lord it over the proles.



What no man, woman or cat can understand is this: Brexit was touted as the only means of reclaiming sovereignty from an overly bureaucratic and controlling Brussels. But if self-determination is truly the end goal — there must come the realisation that this can never be achieved under constitutional monarchy. The time has come for Parliament to decide the future of the Royal Family once and for all. And that of the British people. It’s about time. 

Miranda Husain is a senior journalist and has worked as Deputy Managing Editor at Daily Times, Features Editor at The Friday Times (TFT) and Deputy Editor at Newsweek Pakistan. She writes on local and international politics; race and identity; and cats! She can be reached at mirandahusain@me.com and tweets @humeiwei