To the editor:

In response to the column regarding the British Monarchy in Friday’s Lawrence Journal World (“Great Britain needs its royalty”), I feel some corrections are necessary. While it was, for the most part, mere generalized observations masquerading as an argument, its crux was to present purported facts with little or no basis in reality and with no qualifications or explanations.

For example, it stated that the queen has a “special position” within the British Secret Service. This is true, but misleading: she also has a “special position” within the British Armed Forces, as she is technically commander-in-chief. However, this is merely ceremonial and symbolic: She has and exerts no authority.

Similarly, the suggestion that she could override a maverick British government is misleading. The British Constitution is every bit as intriguing as it is bewildering, and is largely unwritten, unlike its American counterpart, and relies largely on tradition, convention and precedent. Thus, though she may technically have such a power, just as she does to withhold the Royal Seal for a new law, the reality is that any attempt to exercise such a power would likely cause such a constitutional crisis to bring about the demise of the monarchy itself.

The only true checks and balances to the sitting government are maintained by Parliament itself and by the Judiciary.

Thus while she is undoubtedly beloved by the British populace, she is nonetheless every bit as powerless as she is perceived to be, if not more so.

Philip Deamer
Lawrence