Viceregalism: The Crown as Head of State in Political Crises in the Postwar Commonwealth. By H. Kumarasingham (ed.)

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Cancelled hospital appointments, postponed Royal Mail and rail strikes, suspended sporting events and closed banks due to national mourning—the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022 had significant consequences for public life in the UK and beyond. With the disruption of the work of the parliaments of her realms (including the four parliaments of the UK and other parts of the Commonwealth such as Australia), they also reached the political arena, reminding the public that in the British constitutional monarchy the Crown is ‘an integral part of the institution of Parliament’, indeed the ‘oldest part of the system of government in this country’, as the UK Parliament’s website puts it.1 Published well before the events of September 2022, H. Kumarasingham’s new book, which appeared in the Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series, is devoted to the political functions of the Crown in the post-war Commonwealth. It is an important volume because the politics of and with the Crown are still among the most under-researched areas in political science, but also in history. This is hardly understandable in light of central monarchical reserve powers and the empirically describable politicizations of the monarchy from various sides. The study of the political functions and politicizations of the Crown also offers insight into the functions of modern constitutional monarchies as well as into the political culture and practices of Commonwealth member states. With such a perspective, it would be possible—and, in fact, necessary—to reinscribe the monarchy into the contemporary political history of Britain and beyond, in which it has a place, but which scholarly research has so far not illuminated enough. Significantly complementing existing, older constitutional law studies, Kumarasingham’s book now makes a substantial contribution to this. Although it is not explicitly oriented towards the new political history, the cultural history of politics or a history of political practices, it contributes significantly to these current fields of research with regard to the contemporary Commonwealth.