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That’s true, but there’s a lot that a monarch could get away with, and building a mansion on crown estate land is probably one of them.
by nicoburns 4y ago
That’s true, but there’s a lot that a monarch could get away with, and building a mansion on crown estate land is probably one of them.
- skissane 4y agoIn the 21st century, I don't think the monarch can "get away" with anything unless the Prime Minister is willing to let them "get away" with that thing. And some Prime Ministers (especially Tory ones) would be more than happy for the monarch to have a nice new mansion. But if there is a Prime Minister who says "no, don't do that!", the monarch has to do as told. In a public fight between the PM and the monarch over "should the monarch be allowed to build a new mansion", absolutely the PM is going to win. For British Republicans, such a fight would be a dream come true, since it would instantly move Republicanism from the political fringes to the mainstream.
- Veen 4y agoThat's true, but PMs are motivated not to "embarrass" the monarch if it can be at all avoided. It would be a very unpopular move, as it was when Boris Johnson "advised" the late Queen to prorogue Parliament during the Brexit period. The PM would almost certainly come out worse unless the monarch really was up to something quite bad, and building on Crown land mightn't be bad enough.