Monarchy: Strengths and Weaknesses
By: Kirsten Darrington, Natalie Wilson and Megan Frush
Monarchy
- A monarch is an absolute ruler that is chosen through divine rights or heredity.
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states and their territories and dependencies, as well as head of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations.
King Henry VIII
Besides ruling with absolute power, he also engaged himself as an author and composer.
King Louis XIV
King Louis XIV, also known as Louis the Great, ruled France for 72 years and 110 days. Which is the longest reign in European and French history.
Strengths
- A monarch has an efficient way of carrying out decisions and policies.
- In a monarchy, there is a clear line of succession.
- The citizens in a monarchy respect and have loyalty to the monarch and are a unifying power.
Weaknesses
- An absolute monarch can lead to poor decision-making since being the child of a previous monarch does not always guarantee that they will be fit to be ruler.
- Policy is based on the monarch's own views, so it could shift dramatically from one monarch to another.
- A constitutional monarchy involves a public agreement of the principle of hereditary privilege, which could cause major negative effects on a society.