The Anti-Monarchist Turn in British Politics, Society, and Culture: Diana, Harry and After

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This article returns to the context of the royal crises of the late nineteen-nineties and re-examines the origins of the term “anti-monarchism” and scholarship in this field. Taking the popularity of the monarchy as a starting point and acknowledging the weakness of an openly republican discourse in Britain rarely expressed through the platforms of the major political parties, anti-monarchism provides a measure of the shift in public opinion that resulted in a questioning of the influence, probity, public role, and privileged financial position of the royal house. The focus of this article is on public attitudes, and the move towards sympathy for younger, less establishment royal figures, defined by celebrity culture, who attract the empathy and interest of a younger public. In the following analysis, figures from Princess Diana to Harry and Meghan may be cast as pretenders, fulfilling the role of an alternative to the existing family and, in some views, a compromised court of the Windsors. Here there emerges the outline of a potentially “liberal” vision of monarchy that eschews the established conventions of royal life and reflects a discourse of diversity and pluralism. Further, this piece analyses the increasing relevance of anti-monarchist discourse against the turbulent backdrop of Brexit, debates around Scottish independence, a renewed emphasis on the importance of Englishness, the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the potential break-up of the union. Locating Harry’s memoir Spare in a broader tradition of royal revelations and exposures, this article also explores the role of anti-monarchist currents in the former empire, particularly the Caribbean, and across the Commonwealth in shaping the discourse of anti-monarchism in Britain.