The Great And Good Monarch

Monarchy as an alternative to democracy and fascism (part 3 of my series on the flaws of democracy)

I hope that based on my previous two essays on the flaws of democracy my readers are convinced (or at least open to the idea) that both democracy in its several iterations in the last hundred years; and mankind’s experiment with fascism have failed in far greater measure than they have succeeded.

Equally, I hope you have seen the possibility and evidence of great success both with the high point of democracy otherwise called “Jeffersonian democracy”; and with the brand of fascism represented by General Franco of Spain (or Hitler and Mussolini in their early years of fascist rule).

In this essay, I shall show that monarchy is open to the same possibilities - and the same perils. And since in many ways the present world has been shaped for better, for worse by Western Europe, the protestant reformation and the British empire, I shall confine myself to the English/Scottish Kings and Queens.

The perils of monarchy and the concentration of power are perhaps too obvious - but I shall nevertheless list the example of a few very bad monarchs. And then, describe the sovereign (royal) governance of three extraordinarily “good” monarchs whose reigns were instrumental, even indispensable to Britain becoming a formidable force for good in the centuries that followed.

Let’s start with three of the many truly horrible English/British monarchs past and present. We might include in this rather long and woeful list Henry VIII who executed two of his six wives and thousands of ordinary citizens; or his daughter Mary I (“Bloody Mary”), who sent hundreds of Christians to their deaths (by burning at the stake); or George IV whose multiple mistresses and dissolute living became an serious embarrassment to the English nation (then at war against Napoleon). The present, dysfunctional British royal family has conveniently buried the fact that Prince Andrew was once second in line to the throne and that but for intrepid reporting and public outrage, this royal son (aka Epstein buddy) of Queen Elizabeth would still be receiving royal honours and patronage.

Against the torrid record of these horrible monarchs, this essay will attempt to describe the possibility of extraordinary and defining national success under the reign of a godly monarch, or a monarch who strives under God, to govern benevolently and efficiently on behalf of his/her subjects.

In Shakespeare’s magnificent “Henry V,” the playwright follows the development of character and resolve in this famous King of England. Upon the assumption of the English throne in the year 1413, the Archbishop of Canterbury takes note of the remarkable transformation of the young King from a flamboyant, wild young man to a monarch who recognizes the weight of responsibility and history:

“The king is full of grace and fair regard.-

The courses of his youth promised it not.

The breath no sooner left his father's body,

But that his wildness, mortified in him,

Seem'd to die too; yea, at that very moment

Consideration, like an angel, came

And whipp'd the offending Adam out of him”

Soon, the new King is off to France, where the English armies have been floundering in a long war with France (the “hundred years war”). The vastly outnumbered English soldiers under Henry face a formidable French army in the woods outside the French town of Agincourt. It is the eve of the Battle of Agincourt and a pensive Henry V reflects upon the his own position of great authority and awful responsibility as King of England and compares his state with that of a common man, even that of a slave:

“What infinite heart's-ease

Must kings neglect, that private men enjoy!

And what have kings, that privates have not too,

Save ceremony, save general ceremony?

And what art thou, thou idle ceremony?

What kind of god art thou, that suffer'st more

Of mortal griefs than do thy worshippers?

What are thy rents? what are thy comings in?

O ceremony, show me but thy worth! -

What drink'st thou oft, instead of homage sweet,

But poison'd flattery? -

Canst thou, when thou command'st the beggar's knee,

Command the health of it? No, thou proud dream,

That play'st so subtly with a king's repose;

I am a king that find thee, and I know

'Tis not the balm, the sceptre and the ball,

The sword, the mace, the crown imperial,

The intertissued robe of gold and pearl,

The farced title running 'fore the king,

The throne he sits on, nor the tide of pomp

That beats upon the high shore of this world,

No, not all these, thrice-gorgeous ceremony,

Not all these, laid in bed majestical,

Can sleep so soundly as the wretched slave,

Who with a body fill'd and vacant mind

Gets him to rest, cramm'd with distressful bread;

Never sees horrid night, the child of hell”

The day of the Battle of Agincourt is also St. Crispin’s Day - 25 October, the year 1415. The exhausted and outnumbered English army prepares for battle, as King Henry addresses his troops:

“This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say ‘To-morrow is Saint Crispian:’
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say ‘These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.’
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day -

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”

The Welsh/English invention of the longbow was to prove crucial in this battle - and English archers secured for England and King Henry a decisive victory over the French army in the Battle of Agincourt. English power was securely established for a time, and respected - and victory in this pivotal battle paved the way for a string of military and diplomatic triumphs for Henry and England. The Battle of Agincourt then became part of the history and lore of the nation for hundreds of years.

Five hundred years or so before King Henry V, Christian England was threatened with murder, rape, conquest and annihilation by invading gangs of savage, fearsome, pagan Viking warriors from Denmark, Sweden and Norway. England’s very existence as a Christian, independent nation was at stake.

King Alfred the Great (849-899) became King in the year 871, of the Western part of England then known as “Wessex.” The Eastern part of the country had already succumbed to the Vikings and Alfred’s kingdom was under siege. There was no organized Wessex army and the kingdom had no fortifications to resist or slow down the Viking hordes.

Statue of Alfred the Great, Wantage, England © Simon Belcher—imageBROKER/Getty Images

Alfred reorganized his army, launched a fledgling navy, built innovative fortifications around settlements and constantly sought to stay one step ahead of the Vikings. After early setbacks and a tactical retreat, Alfred’s army defeated the Vikings in the Battle of Edington (878). Subsequently, Guthrum, the Viking king, himself converted to Christianity and was baptized. Christian England was soon to be safe again. Military historians now recognize Alfred as a tactical military genius.

King Alfred was learned, erudite, eager for the education of his people and especially for the education of the common man in the common “old English” language of his time. He translated St. Gregory’s works from Latin to old English, built Churches and monasteries and recruited scholars from across Europe to build the intellectual life of his nation. He prayed daily, gave alms generously and believed he was an instrument of God in the service of his people. Even during battles, he would attend the Mass and he carried with him always, a book of prayer.

King Alfred visiting a monastery school © traveler1116— DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images

In the Orthodox Church, King Alfred is venerated as a Saint. In all of English history, few leaders were regarded and celebrated more than Alfred the Great.

And finally, the beautiful literary age of Shakespeare would in all likelihood not have happened at all, were it not for a great English monarch who saved England from conquest by Spain and set the nation upon the path that led to cultural dominance, naval dominance and to the advent of the British empire.

Queen Elizabeth (1533-1603) became the Queen in 1558 of a divided, traumatized nation, that had survived the tumultuous years of the rule of “Blood Mary” (Mary I) and was not regarded as a major European power.

Elizabeth established the protestant Church as the dominant Church in all of England and made the Book of Common Prayer the central liturgical text for the Churches. Weekly church attendance was made mandatory, with the fine of a shilling (a princely sum in those days) for absence. However, her acts of “Religious Settlement” sought to unite the nation under one, Christian Church and at the same time, avoid offending the minority Catholic population.

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I painted during her lifetime

In 1588, Queen Elizabeth’s navy defeated the mighty Spanish armada off the coasts of England. The English fleet had skilled sailors and smaller, well designed ships that were more nimble and maneuverable. The English navy was helped by storms at sea and the wreck of a several of the 137 ships of the Spanish armada. The English people rejoiced as a united nation and regarded Elizabeth’s victory as divine intervention and the saving of England from conquest by Spain.

The encouragement and patronage of the Elizabethan court together with stability at home, led to the flourishing of the arts, and especially of theatre and drama. William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson dominated the European literary world and through Shakespeare, England’s influence and prestige spread throughout Europe and (later) to the colonies of the British empire and the world. The Elizabethan philosopher and essayist Francis Bacon first wrote about the importance of experimentation in science - and laid the foundations of the scientific method.

Elizabeth encouraged private enterprise and exploration and such restless, energetic explorers as Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh opened up new sea routes to newly discovered lands, thus making possible the birth of the British empire.

Every nation has had its share of truly terrible monarchs and truly great monarchs. So that the reader may well ask, “what is to prevent a truly terrible monarch from seizing power and making the life of his/her subjects an intolerable misery?” It is a good question.

And I don’t provide definitive answers - beyond pointing out the possibility and the evidence from history of the good and great and godly monarch.

Only the Kingdom of God endures. Only the Kingdom of God can provide lasting answers to man’s individual and societal problems. And this will be the subject of my concluding essay of this series on the flaws of democracy (and other systems of man-made government).