Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival

The Festival of Britain in 1951 was dreamed up by political Herbert Morrison as an effort to display and celebrate the country’s achievements beyond the war. Two great changes that permanently altered British life necessitated such an effort: the end of World War II, and the conclusion of the British Empire. The Festival of Britain coincided with the centenary of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria’s Great Exhibition to celebrate innovation and technology around the world, and establish Great Britain’s role as an industrial leader. King George VI even referenced this exhibition in his speech declaring the festival open, and it went on to be a huge success.

A similar train of thought, utilizing majesty and grandeur to elevate national mood, was employed just a few years later when the defunct Empire was reborn as a set of Commonwealth countries with Queen Elizabeth II as its head. The bloody history of colonialism was repackaged as a brotherly bond between the nations, and establishing the Queen as their head was an attempt to safeguard her position as a leader using soft power. Even though it was apparent that each of these countries would go on to establish their independence away from the British monarchy, Britain maintained its illusion as the head of these countries through a “cultivated anachronism” of fanfare and ceremonial traditions.

At the time of the book’s publication, the Commonwealth of Countries is a collection of 56 independent nations with associations with Britain. They include the Commonwealth realms, which are 14 sovereign states whose official head of state is the British monarch. However, a number of these countries have begun to loosen their ties to Britain. Barbados removed the Queen as their head of state months after her death; Jamaica has a referendum planned for 2024 in which they will vote on becoming a republic; and Australia, which has the strongest ties to the British monarchy, has seen the republican movement pick up steam.

Republican sentiment has also been on the rise closer to home. The movement is growing in Scotland and is rooted in a desire to rejoin the European Union. Brexit, which saw the UK leave the EU, has isolated the country and contributed to its increasing economic decline. Thus, the royal family faces “a shrinking Commonwealth, a retreating world presence, and a weakening economy at home” (350). Charles’s priority is to keep the ship steady, and his vision to do so involves a slimmed-down monarchy that is more cost-effective to the public. One step in this direction includes opening up royal residences like Buckingham Palace to the public for longer periods of the year, as tourist attractions. The income from this will mean the royal family needs less taxpayer money for its maintenance.

However, there is also a growing republican movement within Britain itself. Although it is not substantial enough yet to pose an immediate threat, statistics show that the younger generation is disproportionately more inclined to do away with the monarchy. Charles himself has a lower approval rating than both his mother and his son. Since Charles’s ascension, the British republican advocacy group, Republic, has amped up its efforts to disestablish the monarchy and presented its model for how: a parliamentary democracy with an elected prime minister and non-political head of state, similar to many other countries across Europe.

At present, the monarchy is still perceived to be a harmless and innocuous institution, largely because of the nostalgia factor. However, following the Queen’s death, Charles’s controversies, Andrew’s many disgraces, and Harry and Meghan’s exit, the monarchy is more vulnerable than ever before. It has also been exposed as far less profitable than popularly believed: An investigative report by The Guardian ahead of Charles’s coronation revealed that the personal wealth amassed by the new king runs into the billion-pound figure. Additionally, the monarch receives close to a billion pounds for its maintenance from the Sovereign Grant, which is partly made up of taxpayer money. This amount remains constant and is even due to increase, irrespective of the economic state of the country.

All this points to why the monarchy is determined to stay on. This form of government relies on perceptions of commitment and duty to obscure the reality of this inherited wealth and present it as payment for services rendered to the country. Thus, as the royal family has done since time immemorial, they continue to “roll out the carriages, unsheathe ceremonial swords, and parade the crown in a worn-thin campaign to keep their palaces and stay in the game” (357).

Scobie contemplates the wooden throne in Westminster Abbey and its significance a few days before Charles’s coronation in May 2023. Westminster Abbey was also where Scobie covered his first royal engagement: William and Kate’s wedding, a time when the royal fairytale was still alive and celebrated. Charles’s coronation, however, comes at a time when the monarchy and its flaws are more evident owing to all that has passed.

The coronation is thus an important event to “recaptivate and restore some of that lost mystique” (360). In his coronation, Charles attempted to mirror his vision for his reign by introducing 21st-century elements: a shorter ceremony, a guest list that featured representatives from the general public, and a new pledge that promised to honor interfaith freedom and harmony.

There were, however, a fair share of problems, beginning with Charles and Camilla having to wait a few minutes for the Wales’ arrival. During the event, the contrast between William in ceremonial garb and his brother seated some rows back in solo attendance was starkly obvious. Harry, who only received confirmation of an invitation to the ceremony in late March, departed for California immediately after the ceremony was complete. In contrast was his uncle, Andrew, who experienced a much warmer welcome and was even allowed to wear his Order of the Garter ceremonial robes. Charles thoroughly ignored the suggestion from Palace officials that Andrew be encouraged to wear civilian clothes.

William and Charles have a long and tough road ahead, their challenges including their country’s economic decline and diminishing global power, their search for new identities, and the growing republican movement and apathy toward the monarchy. Equally challenging is the increasing divide between William and Charles themselves, with the former already choosing to do things differently than his father and eschew tradition.

For the monarchy to survive, it must usher in real change, and if it cannot do so, then its time will sooner or later come to an end. Scobie quotes Samuel Beckett’s Endgame to underscore his point: “Old endgame lost of old, play and lose and have done with losing” (369-70).