Years ago, it wasn’t uncommon for kingdoms to be ruled by kings and queens who would pass on to be succeeded by their children. This was what was called a monarchy, and was often seen as a potential opportunity for tyranny, especially that royal families were able to rule over their respective kingdoms for many years as long as they had children. It was because of this that the monarchy was soon replaced by the constitutional monarchy which still recognized the necessity of royalty, but kept their actions as well as the actions of the people, under check by use of a constitution.
List of Pros of Constitutional Monarchy
1. Preserves History and Culture
Many would say that to remove the potential for tyranny, it would be best to change a monarchy completely into something more like a democracy. But the constitutional monarchy is able to eliminate the chance for a tyranny and still preserve the history and culture of the country.
2. Continuity of Rule and Identity
There are no limits to the length that royalty can represent a country. As long as that person is living, they are an apt representative of the nation they’re a part of. That means the country can enjoy a continuity in the relationships they build overseas, as opposed to other nations that need to deal with the changing of presidents.
3. Balance of Power
With a monarch acting as a non-political head of the state, they can entrust all other concerns regarding the state to the parliament. This means they can focus better on their duties and responsibilities, which can be equally said for the parliament.
List of Cons of Constitutional Monarchy
1. Monarchs Cannot Be Removed
There is no way, no matter how unworthy or undeserving a monarch might be, that they can be removed. This is a generally accepted truth. There have even been instances when children were placed at the helm just because there was no one else to take the place. This is arguably one of the biggest problems with a constitutional monarchy.
2. Difficult to Progress
Because a constitutional monarchy aims to preserve the culture and tradition of the monarchy system of government, they do have some difficulty progressing. This is because certain traditions and customs make it hard for internal changes to occur.
3. Expensive
There is no doubt that maintaining royalty can be expensive. Simply maintaining the royal mansion and providing security for the royal family can significantly take away from the taxes that the people of the country pay from their hard earned money.