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An elected Head of State for Britain

Score card for monarchs

How well has the hereditary system delivered...

I will start with William the Conqueror, as the previous Saxon kings were elected, even if on a severely restricted franchise.

William I

Invaded England on a feeble excuse. Highly repressive. Commissioned Domesday Book to tax us harder.

William II

Similarly repressive. Even the barons who had benefitted from the Norman Conquest did not like him.

Henry I

Generally liked, even if he 'liked' wenches too much. Left chaos in his wake (as well as many children, guarateeing we now all carry 'royal blood').

Stephen

Too weak to prevent decades of civil war ravaging our green & pleasant.

Henry II

Better. Brought order to the chaos.

Richard I

Bad but with an unjustified good reputation. Wasted our tax money on wars, largely in France. Hated in Gascony.

John

Actually tried to administer the country well, thus getting up the noses of the barons. Magna Charta is a charter of barons' rights. Unlucky in losing Normandy & having a terrible temper.

Henry III

'Brought peace with injustice'...but only after civil war. Another weakling.

Edward I

Messed up in Gascony. Conquered Wales - was that really necessary? Died invading Scotland.

Edward II

Fought & lost to Scots. Promoted his gay friends over qualified straights & was bumped off horribly.

Edward III

Fought unnecessary wars in France. Too subject to the influence of mistresses.

Richard II

Tyrant. Betrayed the people by ratting on the Peasants Revolt agreement.

Henry IV

Usurper. Murdered predecessor (this is a + point).

Henry V

More unnecessary foreign wars...

Henry VI

Utter weakling. Lost the war in France completely. Caused the War of the Roses by his feebleness.

Edward IV

Usurper. Won War of the Roses. Reasonable administrator but married unwisely, causing political problems.

Edward V

We will never know how he would have turned out.

Richard III

Good administrator. Gave us right to bail.

Henry VII

Usurper. Won War of the Roses mark 2. The best administrator among the royals but with a very dodgy claim to the throne.

Henry VIII

Wasted his father's legacy but fortuituously saved us from Catholicism.

Edward VI

Died a bit too young but founded many schools.

Mary I

Bloody Mary. Enough said.

Elizabeth I

Good marks for cooling religious passions & steadiness under fire from Spanish etc.

James I

OK. Cunning politician.

Charles I

Dismissed parliament. Plunged country into civil war trying to establish 'the divine right of kings'.

Charles II

Sold out to foreign powers. Secret Catholic. Tried 'the divine right of kings' on again.

James II

Untrustworthy & booted out.

William III & Mary II

Beneficiaries of the 'Glorious Revolution'. W spent much money on foreign wars against Louis XIV. Probably just as well. Good marks.

Anne

Cunning politician. Not as dim as often portrayed.

George I

Boor.

George II

Gets a brownie point for being the last king to lead the army into battle.

George III

Interfered in politics too much. Questionable sanity with hereditary implications.

George IV

Cultured, if nothing else.

William IV

Betrayed his real wife Dora Jordan. Allowed Queen Adelaide to interfere in politics too much.

Victoria

Ok when she relied on Albert's good sense.

Edward VII

The last king to do anything for his country in facilitating the Entente Cordiale with the French. Randy.

George V

A king of very little brain. Betrayed his cousin Tasr Nicholas II, when he could have rescued him.

George VI

A weak man stiffened by a tough wife.

Elizabeth II

Incompetent parent. Attempts, often successfully, to put pressure on elected politicians. Subverts courts.

Only 10 out of 39 with any positive attributes & only 4 might have been elected democratically (John, Richard III, Henry VII & William-and-Mary). Oliver Cromwell was a better Head of State than any of them (with the possible exception of Henry VII) & his leagcy, except for the Republic, was eventually enshrined in the 1689 Bill of Rights.

If you want to know more, you can always e-mail me.

 

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Contact: Ken Baldry, 17 Gerrard Road, Islington, London N1 8AY, +44(0)20 7359 6294 or e-mail him

URL: http://www.ourpresident.org.uk/monarchs.html

Last revised 19/12/2003


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