Britain’s feudal constitution has caused the country a double international embarrassment with the revelation that a Windsor family member must renounce his right to become head of state in order to marry a Catholic woman.
Peter Phillips, who is tenth in line to be hereditary head of state, intends to marry a Canadian, Autumn Kelly. But Ms. Kelly is a Catholic . And under British law neither the head of state nor her or his spouse may be of that denomination.
Canada’s charter of rights bans religious discrimination but that country shares Britain’s hereditary head of state. So the reminder that in Britain the office of head of state belongs to a family, not the people, and the fact that religious discrimination is sanctioned by Britain’s constitution has caused particular unhappiness in Ms. Kelly’s home country.
Many Canadians see this incident as an affront to their independence as well as to their democratic values. As long as Canada remains a monarchy its charter of rights must give way to Britain’s feudal values. For some Canadians this gives added impetus to the drive to free their country from monarchy.
In Britain, however, the religious and racial discrimination at the heart of monarchy as yet cause no shame and have not undermined the feudal institution.